In 70-80% of the case, those who sell live fish in markets do not possess the necessary certificates. The fish is sold without veterinary certificates or certificates of origin. Contacted by IPN, senior inspector of the Pisciculture Service Ruslan Chelmenciuc said to avoid eating infected fish, the consumer must ask the seller to provide the veterinary certificate showing that the fish is healthy.

The selling of fish without veterinary certificates or certificates of origin increases the risk of infection with salmonellosis and different bacteria and of intestinal poisoning and blood infection. The infested fish can also develop parasitic helminthes and fungus infections.

Ruslan Chelmenciuc noted that most of the veterinarians do not correctly fill out the veterinary certificate and do not specify the species, quantities for sale and place from where the fish is brought. “Under the law, the veterinarians must issue a certificate for all the species, but they issue veterinary certificates for each species apart. This is not right as the seller, instead of paying for one certificate covering 5-6 species, pays for 5-6 certificates separately. We must also protect the sellers, not only the consumers,” stated the inspector.

During two days, the Pisciculture Service inspected 17 sellers of live fish. Eleven of these didn’t have the necessary documents and were fined a total of 22,000 lei.