KENYA: Lake Victoria fishing ban lifted

Kenya has lifted a two week ban on fishing in Lake Victoria, Health Minister Jackson Kalweo announced. The alert and fishing ban was issued following reports that some fishermen were using poisonous chemical substances to catch fish. "We can now confirm that over the last week, water and fish samples taken from the lake for the poisonous chemical analysis were all negative," Kalweo said in a statement received by IRIN on Wednesday. He said the government will continue intense surveillance and monitoring of fish harvested in Kenya to ensure it will pose no danger to consumers. The government has sent a delegation to the European Union (EU) in Brussels to convince it that Kenyan fish is safe. The EU on 30 March announced a temporary ban on fish imports from Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The industry brings in over US $240 million for East African countries.