Đaković: Fish from Lake Skadar is safe to eat

After some public assessments that fish from Lake Skadar is not safe to eat due to the discharge of untreated wastewater into the Morača River, appearing on Boje jutra on TV Vijesti, the director of the Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs Directorate, Vladimir Đaković, said that their analyses have not shown this to date.

"All the analyses that we had access to and that were sent by our inspectors were within normal limits and in accordance with the regulations on the content, first of the Food Safety Law, and then the content of other substances and pollutants and other parameters that were required. I think that some similar project was carried out by CETI in partnership with another international organization on the entire lake area. Of course, fish were caught from different parts of the lake at that time and certain parameters were shown, but I am not aware that they exceeded what is within the tolerance limits," he said.

He also pointed out that the fish offered in restaurants and retail outlets is regularly inspected.

"The restaurant must have proof of the origin of the fish, that it was purchased from an authorized, or registered fisherman, and that fish should have proof of origin and of course it is safe. We have a facility in the municipality of Zeta that processes fish. It is a facility that has a permit to place goods on the European Union market. In order for goods to be placed on the European Union market, they must undergo a whole set of measures and actions to prove that the goods are safe and that they are safe to enter the European Union market. I think that one of the main products of this facility is smoked carp from Lake Skadar in oil, which has passed all those checks, so I will say that the pollution is not at the level that is being talked about," he said.