A key member of the aquatic industry yesterday lashed out at the Centre for Food Safety's (CFS) report last week on what it called "isolated cases" of fish samples containing dangerous levels of mercury.

The Hong Kong Aquaculture Group Holdings (HKAGH) said the report has brought negative impacts on the industry for it scares people away from eating fish while failing to provide any solutions to tackle the issue.

The CFS announced last Wednesday that among 280 fish samples, they found the mercury levels in three samples of beryx splendens exceeding the legal 500 microgram-per-kilogram limit.

Accordingly, the CFS advised that pregnant women and children should avoid eating large prefatory fish and fish that may contain high level of mercury such as shark, swordfish and tuna that are commonly used for sashimi.

Reacting to the report, Kevin Kwan, chairman of the HKAGH, said it has had serious impact on the fishing, catering, retail and transport sectors.

Henri Chan, chief executive officer of the company, criticized that the report only talked about the mercury levels in fish but did not mention anything about the industry's expertise in removing heavy metals from fish.

"The government did not advise on any measures. All it did was to tell people not to consume fish," he commented.

Responding to the industry's comments, a CFS spokesman said they had consulted the industry on the study at a forum on April 10.

The CFS highly values communications with the industry and welcomes its representatives to attend consultative meetings, the spokesman added.

(HK Edition 04/22/2008 page1)