South Africa fisheries officials have warned locals not to eat seafood that has washed up along the country’s western coast seafront to avoid poisoning.
Fisheries ministry spokesperson Peter Mbelengwa said the tainted sea food has been washed up along the sea front due to the annual toxic red tide which hits the area during this time of the year.
The toxins in the seafood posed a danger to human health, the spokesperson said.
“Large numbers of dead marine animals have been washing up on the beaches on the west coast due to the annual red tide,” Mbelengwa said.
He added: “These mortalities, including large numbers of lobsters, prawns, crabs, cuttlefish, seaworms and shark rays, and many other species were first reported from the Berg River mouth close to the town of Velddrif, and mostly inside the estuary.”
The official said the appearance of washed-up lobsters carried significant health risks, rendering them unsuitable for consumption.
Red tides take place when microscopic algae rapidly reproduce to cause ‘blooms’ in the Cape Town area of South Africa – especially during the warmer summer months – and kill sea animals in their wake, Mbelengwa said.
NM/jn/APA