Ice for all fish – council

Press, 1 December 1978, Page 4

Ice for all fish - council

i All fish for sale should be [packed in ice, or refrigI erated, soon after being ■ taken from the sea, the I Christchurch City Council’s health and general comImittee said yesterday. The fish should be kept that way until arrival at retail premises or processing plants, the committee said. Councillors were told that the council’s health department was concerned about the quality of fish arriving at markets, especially in the summer. But there was no legislation requiring the use of ice on board a fishing boat, or during transport to the markets. A number of Christchurch retail shops had been surveyed by an officer of the Fishing Industries Board, the staff report said; the survey "indicates that all is not well, and that there are a number of problems to be resolved." Problems seemed mainly to arise from the failure of fishermen to use ice or refrigeration as soon as fish were taken from the water. City health inspectors are also still trying to get a complete change from wooden to platic fish crates. Councillors said that the Director-General of Health should be urged to seek legislation on fish preservation.