Singapore - The snakehead fish vilified as a monster in the United States does not scare Singaporeans, who turn the tables on the aquatic predator by enjoying it regularly in soup or stir-fried, experts said on Friday.
"We would have raised the alarm by now if it was really dangerous," said Goh Shih Yong, corporate communications manager with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). "So many people here eat the fish," he added.
Many of the devotees of the voracious fish claim it has medicinal benefits, such as speeding recovery after surgery.
About 1 200 tons of the fish, worth 3.3-million Singapore dollars (about R18-million), were imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia last year, the AVA said.
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'Something from a bad horror movie' Local farms also breed the razor-toothed, fresh-water fish native to Asia and Africa. It does not attack humans, but workers wear helmets and protective gear when harvesting the creature.
In announcing plans to ban snakehead imports, US Interior Secretary Gale Norton described the fish on Tuesday as "something from a bad horror movie" that eats virtually any small animal in its path and can travel across land and live out of water for at least three days.
She told a news conference in Washington that it was considered "injurious wildlife" that could destroy the marine ecosystem in the United States if freed into the wild.
Her statement was prompted by snakehead fish let loose in a pond outside Washington, where authorities are considering using poison to eradicate the predator.
But authorities in Singapore said it is not true that it can walk on land and live out of water for days at a time.
'It doesn't attack humans unless it's hungry and you fall into the pond' "It's a hardy creature, true. And it's also true it can wriggle its way on the ground, but only during the rainy season," Koh Boon Wah, general manager of a farm breeding the snakehead, told The Straits Times.
He said it fights back when being harvested. If the fish strikes a person on the face or chest, it could cause some bleeding but the wound is not likely to be serious, he added.
"It doesn't attack humans unless it's hungry and you fall into the pond," Koh was quoted as saying. - Sapa-DPA
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