MELAKA: The dead fish found at Pengkalan Balak beach here were probably dumped by fishermen, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali.

       He said that a preliminary report from the Melaka Fisheries Department showed that most of the dead fish were of the “Tamban Pias” species and were found along the one kilometre-long beachfront between Teluk Gong and Sungai Tuang.

       “The species has no commercial value and was probably been dumped by local fishermen,” he said when met at Seri Negeri in Ayer Keroh on Monday (Mar 28).

       He said the fish is inedible due to its strong odour, adding that it is very “bony".

       He said the fish has no value and fishermen probably took the easy way out by dumping the dead fish into the sea when clearing their nets at the end of day.

       “We found no other marine species along the coastline, which clearly indicates there was no water pollution due to an oil spill or other sources of contamination,” he said.

       Sulaiman said that tests done on seawater samples collected were normal.

       On Sunday (March 27), a group of fishermen at Teluk Gong blamed sulphur contamination for causing the fish to die en masse.

       The incident also caused beach-goers to leave early due to the stench emitted by the rotting fish.