BASA

[indy]

Subject: BASA FISH PLEASE please READ! Woolworths and Coles sell this!!

BASA FISH PLEASE READ!!!!! Woolworths and Coles sell this !!
Many are snatching up the fish at supermarkets as they are very cheap.
The fish looks good but read the article and you will be shocked.

This product is from Vietnam.

Do you eat this frozen fish called BASA? ( Pangasius, Vietnamese River Cobbler, White Catfish, Gray Sole )

Industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River, BASA or Pangas or whatever they're calling it, has only been recently introduced to the French market. However, in a very short amount of time, it has grown in popularity in France. They are very, very affordable (cheap), are sold in filets with no bones and they have a neutral flavor and texture; many would compare it to cod and sole, only much cheaper. But as tasty as some people may find it, there's, in fact, something hugely unsavory about it. I hope the information provided here will serve as very important information for you and your future choices. Here's why it is better left in the shops and not on your dinner plates:

1. BASAS or Pangas are teeming with high levels of poisons and bacteria. (industrial effluents, arsenic, and toxic and hazardous by-products of the growing industrial sector, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), metal contaminants, chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) ).

The reason is that the Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet and this is where basa/pangas are farmed and industries along the river dump chemicals and industrial waste directly into it. Avoid eating them because they contain high amounts of contamination (http://www.whytraveltofrance.com/2007/08/03/buying-fish-in-france-a-warning/). Regardless of Reports and recommendations against selling them, supermarkets still sell them, knowing full well that they are contaminated.

2. They freeze Basa/Pangas in contaminated river water.

3. BASA/Pangas are raised in Vietnam . Pangas are fed food that comes from Peru ( more on that below ), their hormones ( which are injected into the female Pangas ) come from China .. ( More about that below ) and finally, they are transported from Vietnam to other countries .

4. There's nothing natural about Basa/Pangas - They're fed dead fish remnants and bones, dried and ground into a flour (from South America), manioc ( cassava ) and residue from soy and grains. This kind of nourishment doesn't even remotely resemble what they eat in nature. But what it does resemble is the method of feeding mad cows ( cows were fed cows, remember? ). What they feed basa/pangas is completely unregulated so there are most likely other dangerous substances and hormones thrown into the mix. The basa/pangas grow 4 times faster than in nature, so it makes you wonder what exactly is in their food? Your guess is as good as mine.

5. Basa/Pangas are injected with Hormones Derived from Urine. They inject female Basa/Pangas with hormones made from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women, the female Pangas grow much quicker and produce eggs faster ( one Basa/Panga can lay approximately 500,000 eggs at one time ). Essentially, they're injecting fish with hormones ( they come all of the way from a pharmaceutical company in China ) to speed up the process of growth and reproduction. That isn't good. And also consider the rest of the reasons to NOT eat BASA.

6.You get what you pay for - and then some. Don't be lured in by insanely cheap price of Basa/Pangas. Is it worth risking your health and the health of your family?

7. Buying Basa/Pangas supports unscrupulous, greedy corporations and food conglomerates that don't care about the health and well-being of human beings. They are only concerned about selling as many basa/pangas as possible to unsuspecting consumers. These corporations only care about making more money at whatever cost to the public..

8. Basa/Pangas WILL make you sick - If you don't get ill with vomiting, diarrhea and effects from severe food poisoning, congratulations, you have an iron stomach! But you're still ingesting POISON not "poisson".

Final important note: Because of the prodigious amount of availability of Basa/Pangas, be warned that they will certainly find their way into other foods like imitation crab sticks, fish sticks, fish terrines, and probably in some pet food too. Just check the Ingredient List to see if Basa is one of the ingredients. Good Luck.

You have been warned !!!

Why are we allowing this product to be imported and our Governments and environmentalists closing up and restricting our pristine and well managed Fisheries into marine parks? Our country is going mad and destroying itself unless YOU do something. GET BEHIND OUR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES SO WE CAN PRODUCE GOOD QUALITY SEAFOOD FOR AUSTRALIANS, the owners.
_________________________

[Chimo]

Post the video re basa too. Really interesting viewing.

Chimo

[onerabbit]

Gee,
and most people are only worried that they feed them from the toilet..........

Muzz

[charleville]

The topic of Basa or the other myriad of marketing names given to it has been the topic of discussion in these forums a long time ago.

However, I don't think that we have ever before seen the extreme level of FUD material (fear, uncertainty and doubt) written in the above piece.

I cannot remember seeing such extreme negative propaganda since I used to see the old WW1 and WW2 propaganda leaflets showing babies on bayonets held by satanic looking Germans.

Whatever the merits of the argument, unless the article is cited as being from a reputable source, lines like "They inject female Basa/Pangas with hormones made from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women," smacks of propaganda of the most extremist level of vested interest.

Likewise the revelation that "They're fed dead fish remnants " makes me sound gruesome because I like eating dead fish also. In fact I have never been a fan of eating any sort of fish other than dead fish. ;D


Now, before we destroy the livelihood of the good people of Vietnam, go now to your pantry and look at your very best tins of fish and see where they come from.

eg. See if you have any John West mussels in your larder. You know John West. They are the ones who reject all of the poor quality stuff. If you look at the source of the John West mussels you will see that they are from China.

But hang on, isn't China where melamine was being put into milk and poisoning lots of babies around the world? Gee, you would not be eating anything from China, would you?

If not go and have a look at all of your tinned and frozen goods and see where they come from.


Best thing you can do is not eat anything.

;D

.

[krazyfisher]

""Industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River""

I have seen this "industrially" farmed fish They are small floating sheds with a net under them that holds the fish, the familiy lives in the shed and feeds them pelts... i dont know were they would get the money for all the poison.....

in saying all the above I prefer not to eat anything from vietnam unless I am there, we have so much better here

[tunaticer]

I would like to see an actual toxicology report on the flesh sold as Basa. I am not saying the above is not correct, but I am left wondering how such a mega-profitable and successful fish breeding program could be had in such incredibly adverse environment. Look at the Aquaculture programs around the world and how much they struggle with maintaining a suitable environment for their business. I suspect that a fair amount if this could be embellishment to make it read more severe as the media have a real habit of doing.

I know the standards there are third world and the practices are not what people want to hear or see, but to be so incredibly productive to export to about 40% of the world from one river that is unfit for anything......well that creates some doubt on the validity of the statements.

I know it is well and truly flooded into all forms of media, but not once has there been toxicology reports shown or genetic modification, or hormone test results done by world accredited scientists, been produced that I have seen.

I do not ever buy any imported seafoods as I will not support our good seafoods being exported and 2nd rate crap imported. That also goes for fruit and veg as well because I buy from the local markets from local growers for 90% of our greens.

[mowerman]

One of my customers is a seafood wholesaler.

Imported produce only. He gave up on the local product because of the shitfighting between the suppliers.
Mostly"Im not selling to you because you bought off so and so."

Earlier this year he did a tour of the basa/panga processing plants in Vietnam.
All new and shiny and hygienically way above anything he had encountered in 20 years of business in Australia.
All built,maintained and owned by American money.
Thats where the bulk of the finished product ends up.

On the subject of the original post, His 1 word reply.

"propaganda".

Frankly, I couldnt give a large rats about the imported stuff.
The only fish I eat are the ones I catch.

The whiting have been tasty the last month or so.

Rod

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[spelchek]

So are some of you actually trying to say that information in a sensational spam email may not be entirely correct?

[indy]

Charlie's Quote

Now, before we destroy the livelihood of the good people of Vietnam, go now to your pantry and look at your very best tins of fish and see where they come from.

Best thing you can do is not eat anything


I sore a video on the mekong and it was disgusting dead fish floating rubbish everywhere and supposably industries dumping crap directly into the river which i would believe 100%.

I would never buy overseas fish including basa because i dont need to as well as wouldn't risk eating that crap as i have seen the footage of the what the river looks like, they dont have to run no test for me that was enough.

Fruit and vege i get from the markets all australian and at least you no its fresh and hasn't been sitting there for ever and i am keeping the money here not overseas. If people bought australian fish and not that overseas crap they might appreciate what we have here and actually realize how good fish can taste.

If people keep buying that overseas crap there will be more green zones then ever like di/frazer because the need is just not there with all this imported stuff.

Its not about destroying the overseas livelihood its about destroying ours.

[PinHead]

indy..don't think fruit and veges are those lil items so full of nutrients..most of them have had miltitudes of herbicides and fingicides sprayed on them..and a lot are cold room ripened.

As for the BASA..never bought any..prefer to support the local industries wehn buying seafood.

[bennykenny]

Charlie's Quote




If people keep buying that overseas crap there will be more green zones then ever like di/frazer because the need is just not there with all this imported stuff.


i dont understand this sentence, why would there be more green zones if we keep buying Bassa??? Wouldnt there be more green zones if we stopped buying bassa, due to the fact that the local fisheries would have more pressure on them to supply fresh fish.

[charleville]

i dont understand this sentence, why would there be more green zones if we keep buying Bassa??? Wouldnt there be more green zones if we stopped buying bassa, due to the fact that the local fisheries would have more pressure on them to supply fresh fish.



Ah bennykenny - I am sure that you did not mean it in the way that you copied the quote from Indy but I just want to emphasise that the bit about green zones is not from my post.


I suspect that the biggest threat that Indy or anyone else who posts such extreme unsubstantiated claims about produce is a legal one.

For instance, I note from today's newspapers that McDonalds' Chinese chicken nuggets are under some sort of food safety cloud at the moment.

Just try the same sort of post about McDonalds with similar unsubstantiated extremist FUD material designed to put fear into the most risk averse and/or least educated people in the community and see what the retribution from McDonalds would be.

Be afraid when you post this sort of stuff, Indy. Be very afraid. The authorities are looking for you even as we speak. ;D



.

[mod5]

For instance, I note from today's newspapers that McDonalds' Chinese chicken nuggets are under some sort of food safety cloud at the moment.

McDonald's Apologizes For Condoms In Happy Meals





http://en.terra.com/addon/img/lifestyle/8a6d8a-mcdonamealp.jpg
AP

5,000 Happy Meals were distributed with colored condoms instead of a plastic toy from the movie The Last Airbender.
The condoms were intended for the Provincetown, Mass. school system, which recently established a policy making them available for students of all ages; they were delivered to McDonald's distribution center in Barnstable, Mass. in error.
"The packages were so bright and colorful that they were misled by small toys for Happy Meals, but unfortunately most of the workers who do not read English package, and thought 'Ribbed Latex' was a character in the movie," said Robin Anderson, vice president of public relations for the chain, as published by El Universal of Mexico.
The mistake led to an incident in a Brewster, Mass., McDonald's, where more than a dozen 8-year-olds attending a birthday party all opened their condoms at once, and immediately blew them into balloons and started batting them around the restaurant.
The McDonald's incident also caused problems in Provincetown, where the schools accidentally received the restaurant's shipments of Last Airbender toys, and several were released to students who went into their school's nurse's office seeking condoms.
Terra / AP/ Farah Chajin

[PinHead]

and on the flip side:

"What Are The Growing Conditions For Basa?
Basa are grown in one of the most suitable environments for fish farming found anywhere in the world. The Mekong River (from which drains much of the Himalayan snow melt) has one of the largest consistent flows of fresh, clean water on the planet. Australian environmental scientists working for the Mekong River Commission, which monitors water quality at over 50 sites, confirm that testing over the past 15 years shows no serious contamination of the river - partly because there is little industry in its catchment, and partly because of its large flow. It is one of the cleanest of the world's large rivers. Claims that the Mekong River is seriously contaminated have been overwhelmingly refuted by those Australian scientists working in the region.
How Safe Is Basa?
Behind Vietnam's farmed fish export trade is a modern, multi-billion dollar industry that applies the highest levels of global science and technology in the entire chain of its safe food production - essential to enable it to compete in highly regulated and fastidious western markets. The processing factories that produce fish for export to Australia are at the cutting edge of modern technology and are accredited to the highest levels of international food safety.
In addition, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) service rigorously tests all arriving shipments of fish for a range of potential contaminants, prior to release. This multi-tier food safety system ensures consumers have no need to be concerned about product quality or food safety - and this is frequently confirmed by Australia's highest food safety authority: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ"

which is from this site: http://www.seafoodimporters.com.au/news.item.php?pid=62

[indy]

Bennykenny

Its like anything no need for something and what is the solution shut the doors thats what they are slowly doing here eg green zones. If the government didn't buy back so many commercial licenses there would still be plenty of fish to go around and australia is a long way from being fished out. I never have a problem catching a feed.

[indy]

Charlie its a open forum i can say what ever i like as stated earlier its a email that was sent to me so i dont really care about the authoritys as for being very afraid get a grip.

[charleville]

McDonald's Apologizes For Condoms In Happy Meals



Well, that would certainly put a new meaning to the phrase "Happy Meal". ;D

However, this was the current issue which is currently getting headlines ....

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/mcdonalds-says-chinese-nuggets-safe/story-e6freonx-1225889978138


.

[charleville]

Charlie its a open forum i can say what ever i like as stated earlier its a email that was sent to me so i dont really care about the authoritys as for being very afraid get a grip.



Oooh no, I would be worried if I were you, Indy, distributing material like that.

The best thing that you should do to protect yourself is to wipe your computer hard disk right away. That should stop the authorities finding that sort of material on your machine.


;D



If the "rational" argument is a protectionist one against international trade , because that seems to be what you are suggesting when you advocate buying only Australian produce, then you are advocating destroying the Australian economy and lifestyle.


Some facts about the importance of the Vietnamese people to Australia are listed below. (Source: http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/vietnam/vietnam_brief.html )

Australia's merchandise exports to Vietnam in 2008-09 totalled A$1.2 billion.

Significant Australian export items to Vietnam in 2008-09 included wheat, copper, aluminium and cereal preparations.

In 2008-09, Vietnam's merchandise exports to Australia totalled A$4.3 billion. Oil exports constituted more that 70 per cent of Vietnam's total merchandise exports during this period. Other significant items were furniture (A$111m), gold (A$100m),and fruit and nuts (A$81m).


Two-way services trade between Australia and Vietnam in 2008-09 totalled more than A$1.3 billion. Services exports to Vietnam during this period were worth A$736 million. Education-related exports remain Australia's single largest services export, worth A$591 million in 2008-09. Services imports from Vietnam in te same period were valued at A$639 million, dominated by recreational travel (A$472m).


This data suggests that Vietnamese fish exports to Australia are a non-event in the over all scheme of trade. Create an embargo on any trade items and you are likely to find yourself paying more for petrol for your boat and having to find more cash to send your Aussie kids to an Aussie university because of the loss of paying Vietnamese students.


Nah - we need healthy two way trade with Vietnam. Creating odious unproven rumours about Vietnamese produce does a dis-service to everyone.


.


.

[mod5]

Basa ........ yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! ::)

58pTRzZD2g4

[charleville]

Basa ........ yummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! ::)



Not sure about the Basa but she is gorgeous!

I hate cooking TV shows with a passion but I would watch her any time. What fun! ;D

Y'all really need a George Foreman Grill, I reckon. ;D


.

[charleville]

and on the flip side:

"What Are The Growing Conditions For Basa?
Basa are grown in one of the most suitable environments for fish farming found anywhere in the world. The Mekong River (from which drains much of the Himalayan snow melt) has one of the largest consistent flows of fresh, clean water on the planet. Australian environmental scientists working for the Mekong River Commission, which monitors water quality at over 50 sites, confirm that testing over the past 15 years shows no serious contamination of the river - partly because there is little industry in its catchment, and partly because of its large flow. It is one of the cleanest of the world's large rivers. Claims that the Mekong River is seriously contaminated have been overwhelmingly refuted by those Australian scientists working in the region.



Good info, Greg.

Now let's compare that with the Aussie situation.

Oh look, here's one...


"December 4, 2005

Banned: Sydney Harbour prawns too toxic to eat

The Government banned catching prawns in Sydney Harbour yesterday after tests found high levels of dioxin in prawns caught last week.

Dioxin can cause cancer and other health problems and Primary Industry Minister Ian Macdonald said urgent tests were being done on harbour fish to see if they were also carrying the poison.

It is the first time harbour prawns have been tested for dioxins and Mr Macdonald said the industrial toxic waste byproduct could have been present in Sydney's prawns for decades.

The Sydney Harbour king prawn is smaller and sweeter than most prawns and is regarded as a delicacy.

Tests on prawns caught last week found dioxin levels were three to four times the European Standard, which is becoming the accepted global measure for dioxin in food."


Source: http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-harbour-prawns-too-toxic-to-eat/2005/12/03/1133422146952.html#


.

[Awshucks]

Subject: BASA FISH PLEASE please READ! Woolworths and Coles sell this!!

BASA FISH PLEASE READ!!!!! Woolworths and Coles sell this !!
Many are snatching up the fish at supermarkets as they are very cheap.
The fish looks good but read the article and you will be shocked.

This product is from Vietnam.

Do you eat this frozen fish called BASA? ( Pangasius, Vietnamese River Cobbler, White Catfish, Gray Sole )

Industrially farmed in Vietnam along the Mekong River, BASA or Pangas or whatever they're calling it, has only been recently introduced to the French market. However, in a very short amount of time, it has grown in popularity in France. They are very, very affordable (cheap), are sold in filets with no bones and they have a neutral flavor and texture; many would compare it to cod and sole, only much cheaper. But as tasty as some people may find it, there's, in fact, something hugely unsavory about it. I hope the information provided here will serve as very important information for you and your future choices. Here's why it is better left in the shops and not on your dinner plates:

1. BASAS or Pangas are teeming with high levels of poisons and bacteria. (industrial effluents, arsenic, and toxic and hazardous by-products of the growing industrial sector, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), metal contaminants, chlordane-related compounds (CHLs), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) ).

The reason is that the Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers on the planet and this is where basa/pangas are farmed and industries along the river dump chemicals and industrial waste directly into it. Avoid eating them because they contain high amounts of contamination (http://www.whytraveltofrance.com/2007/08/03/buying-fish-in-france-a-warning/). Regardless of Reports and recommendations against selling them, supermarkets still sell them, knowing full well that they are contaminated.

2. They freeze Basa/Pangas in contaminated river water.

3. BASA/Pangas are raised in Vietnam . Pangas are fed food that comes from Peru ( more on that below ), their hormones ( which are injected into the female Pangas ) come from China .. ( More about that below ) and finally, they are transported from Vietnam to other countries .

4. There's nothing natural about Basa/Pangas - They're fed dead fish remnants and bones, dried and ground into a flour (from South America), manioc ( cassava ) and residue from soy and grains. This kind of nourishment doesn't even remotely resemble what they eat in nature. But what it does resemble is the method of feeding mad cows ( cows were fed cows, remember? ). What they feed basa/pangas is completely unregulated so there are most likely other dangerous substances and hormones thrown into the mix. The basa/pangas grow 4 times faster than in nature, so it makes you wonder what exactly is in their food? Your guess is as good as mine.

5. Basa/Pangas are injected with Hormones Derived from Urine. They inject female Basa/Pangas with hormones made from the dehydrated urine of pregnant women, the female Pangas grow much quicker and produce eggs faster ( one Basa/Panga can lay approximately 500,000 eggs at one time ). Essentially, they're injecting fish with hormones ( they come all of the way from a pharmaceutical company in China ) to speed up the process of growth and reproduction. That isn't good. And also consider the rest of the reasons to NOT eat BASA.

6.You get what you pay for - and then some. Don't be lured in by insanely cheap price of Basa/Pangas. Is it worth risking your health and the health of your family?

7. Buying Basa/Pangas supports unscrupulous, greedy corporations and food conglomerates that don't care about the health and well-being of human beings. They are only concerned about selling as many basa/pangas as possible to unsuspecting consumers. These corporations only care about making more money at whatever cost to the public..

8. Basa/Pangas WILL make you sick - If you don't get ill with vomiting, diarrhea and effects from severe food poisoning, congratulations, you have an iron stomach! But you're still ingesting POISON not "poisson".

Final important note: Because of the prodigious amount of availability of Basa/Pangas, be warned that they will certainly find their way into other foods like imitation crab sticks, fish sticks, fish terrines, and probably in some pet food too. Just check the Ingredient List to see if Basa is one of the ingredients. Good Luck.

You have been warned !!!

Why are we allowing this product to be imported and our Governments and environmentalists closing up and restricting our pristine and well managed Fisheries into marine parks? Our country is going mad and destroying itself unless YOU do something. GET BEHIND OUR COMMERCIAL FISHERIES SO WE CAN PRODUCE GOOD QUALITY SEAFOOD FOR AUSTRALIANS, the owners.
_________________________
You are a so called "pro fisher" get a real tax paying job pete ::) .

[Bros]

Go into the forum search engine and type Pacific Dory and see what others think about it. I've eaten it not knowing what it is and I found it disgusting as I thought pacific it was a fish from the Pacific Ocean stupid me as the Mekong river is no where near the Pacific Ocean.

I look at everything I buy and it must be from Australia or I don't buy it.
I like roasted peanuts (doesn't everyone) and I saw bags of them in Woolies looked at the label Produce of China, I now having to buy garlic paste as the fresh garlic Woolies sell is Product of China, I gave tin tuna away as it is all Thailand product.

I hate the local and imported label as I don't know what is local and what is imported.

[charleville]

I look at everything I buy and it must be from Australia or I don't buy it.


Aha. A genuine hippie who lives in a shack and does not own any material goods. :o

That's 'cos pretty well all material goods these days have at least some imported element.

If the product exactly says "Product of Australia" it is truly completely Aussie. If it is labelled something else, it is not truly Aussie.


BTW, where did you get your 100% Aussie made computer made with Aussie made semiconductors etc that you are now using? I was sure that the last Aussie semiconductor manufacturer disappeared with the closure of Fairchild Semiconductor in Australia circa 1970.


I'd reckon that at least 95% of the stuff that you buy has an overseas element in it.


Few people could afford any other situation.


.

[Bros]

Sorry I thought you would have got the message as I was referring to food.

Yes I have a lot of other Chinese stuff but I only use Australian food.

[gr hilly]

its getting bad if i don't catch it i don't eat it i grow alot of my own veges now and by this time next year ill be growing all we eat i think allot of people are realy getting in to growing their own food now days,like they used to back in the old days and the flavor is much better, more fishing time gone.
Hilly

[iqarus]

i wont eat seafood unless im sure its not farmed in asia/eastern africa.

tanzanian perch is just as bad as basa. also, if you think the above info is bad, have a look into prawns farmed in asia and marketed here as "fresh"

production date: 1994 use by date : 2014

their powdered food's main ingredient is a steroid used in race horses, and the farmers routinely have cancerous tumours removed from their lower legs after years of wading in their prawn ponds.

MMM MMM MMM YUMMY.

[cormorant]

With next to none foreign imported food being thoroughly tested by the Aussie authorities I wouldn't exactly trust any marketing speil.

Even worse is that so little of Aussie food for local consumption is tested.

I wish factual orignlables of all fresh food was law so people would understand just how much food that is old and transported round the world they eat. Enforcing it and huge penalties would help but we have a weak system and our politiicians love signing all these so called free trade agreements but just don't understand teh pother countries don't play fair and there is no world police enforcer.


Grow some , Buy local eat fresh and learn where your food comes from and what is in it. It takes time to do it thoughand may not be teh cheapest.

[Flex]

Cant believe some of you guys are defending catfish! and imported catfish at that!
. Me personally I dont care if the fish are hand raised by 18y old naked virgins and fed caviar for lunch or fed their dead offspring for dinner in a fetid swamp.

Its CATFISH!.. And I bet most of you blokes chuck back every catfish you catch.
I hate the fact that fish agents do a simple name change and people swarm over it and your average joe has no idea he is buying catfish.

Then again if your average Joe is eating Basa. Means less demand for top quality aussie fish. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing?

[charleville]

Sorry I thought you would have got the message as I was referring to food.

Yes I have a lot of other Chinese stuff but I only use Australian food.


Mate, I am just teasing you. ;) I knew that you were talking about food.

People are free to choose what they prefer for whatever reason.



Cant believe some of you guys are defending catfish! and imported catfish at that!


I recall being a kid in western Queensland and thinking that the freshwater catfish that we caught there were pretty good. :D However, it is true that I have never kept a seafaring one.


The issue for me is not about the type of fish per se; it is simply about the morality issue of spreading such vitriolic propaganda touting Aussie seafood as being of pristine quality and the Mekong Delta stuff as being tantamount to weapons grade biological poison.

From the cited info from Pinhead about the very high quality of the Himalayan snow melt waters in which the Basa are raised plus the cited info that I offered about the very high toxin levels in Sydney Harbour prawns, it seems to me that there may well be a plausible argument that the Basa would be a much healthier food than fish caught downstream from Australia's industrialised cities and towns.

In this latter category, I would place anything caught in and around Sydney, Moreton Bay and probably anything caught around the Barrier Reef which has been getting run-off of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides from cane farms for decades.


I am happy for factual material to be published supporting a cause. I just don't like seeing such unsubstantiated low grade propaganda which treats us like gullible fools.


.

[indy]

You are a so called "pro fisher" get a real tax paying job pete ::) .


Well you got me, you must no me real well with a statement like that.

Geez its perfect weather outside i had better get back to my profishing.

[FNQCairns]

And we wonder and officially at the highest levels (wonder but don't actually care, not enough money within specific targeted prevention now) why smoking has all but been stamped out....yet cancers are increasing greatly per capita Australia wide....seriously Australia is as dumb ignorant as they come!

I just cannot feed my kid the poisoned food options available here in Oz today because a lifetime of being slowly poisoned throughout the intestinal tract is one that cannot be made up for at a later date.

[INDULGENCE]

Hi
Here is a story I will put to you,
Mr Woolworths or Mr Coles goes along to one of the major suppliers of seafood into Australia and says
"We need to find a fish that is always available, looks good ,easy to cook, does not have a strong flavour and will remain constant in price. Mrs Australia wants and will buy a constant product to feed her kids"
Unfortunately as good as Australian seafood is this request could not be sourced locally, so the supplier imports.
It would be interesting to see the amount of Basa sold into our market and compare its availability and price fluctuation with local product.
I would suggest the same happened with prawns.
Wally

[Marlin_Mike]

It isnt just Woolies and Coles. Restaurants,bistros, diners, cafes, take away shops.......they all sell Basa cause it is very cheap and their margins are higher.


Mike

[no chicken tonight]

It doesnt matter weather or not the fish is fit for human consumption.
Aus and NZ have some of the most pristine waters in the world so why import a farmed fish from a third world country that has little or no regulatory authorities to constanstly monitor the mekong river and the farming conditions. I believe some people from these regions value money more than someones life.
Also, I have no doubt if people farmed fish here in oz the same way the do in vietnam, they would be shut down in no time.
Also... beware of "barramundi". Another fish farmed overseas in questionable conditions.
Theyve been frozen for many months before you buy them anyway, so there would be little or no nutritional value to them.
Its up to the consumer to buy aus quality fresh foods so we can keep alive the last of our industries.

[PinHead]

nct..charleville summed it up..it is called trade..we buy off them..they buy off us.
The Mekong does have an authority and it is classed as one of the cleanest rivers due to the vast amounts of water that run through it.
I don't buy the fish but if people want to then so be it...some Aus food ain't all that fresh and healthy either.

[no chicken tonight]

I fully understand the value of foriegn trade. But fresh foods,produce and seafoods are among the last of our industries. shouldnt we protect them? there's not enough jobs in the mines for all of us!

[no chicken tonight]

Or maybe we should all just buy "imported" because its cheaper. then we should make all australian waters a marine park. Then we will rename this forum to Ausgardening.

[PinHead]

No one said anyone has to buy it but obviously people do or else it would not bebought into the stores here. Perhaps we should protect all our industries..then there would be bugger all mining also as we would have no trade agreements left. It is now a global economy..we are but a tiny minnow in that market so we have to take the markets we can. BUT..as I said at the start..no one has to buy anything they don't want to.

[mod5]

Aus and NZ have some of the most pristine waters in the world

Can I ask what you base this from?

All of the available information I can points to significant degradation of our waterways and bays. Take Sydney Harbour where prawning was banned because of toxins. Look at the recent release on Brisbane's waterways and Moreton Bay where they didn't come up to well at all.

I am curious.

[no chicken tonight]

mod5, this is based on our very small population compared to the rest of the world. Generally, our waters are pristine. Not so much our largest cities, but compare sydney harbour and morton bay to water ways in other cities around the world and i think you might find we're not in as bad shape as some greenies would have you believe.

[charleville]

The video in the link at the bottom of this post was sent to me yesterday by an old friend who would not have known about this thread on Ausfish.


What it tells me at first is that there is obviously a strategy by vested interests in places like the USA as well as Australia, to paint the health issues around Basa in the worst possible light.


This is especially so in the use of unproven statements in the video such as that "the Mekong is one of the most polluted rivers in the world" with cement plants and beer factories etc situated adjacent to the river and untreated sewage being dumped in the river. Lots of footage shows some pretty basic standards of housing along the river's edge - or at least along some river's edge.


Make up your own mind about such stuff but paddle a canoe up somewhere like Breakfast Creek and you too will wonder what is comes into the Brisbane River from the odd pipe that you will see entering the creek. Likewise, the data mentioned by Pinhead about the relative low levels of industrialisation and the huge water throughput in the Mekong might suggest to us the opposite about the Mekong.


There is the occasional statement in the video about the Vietnamese saying that the density of their fish stocking is higher than USA standards so as to infer that this is a bad thing. For all we know, the Vietnamese may have been boasting about their higher level of breeding productivity.


Likewise, there is a claim that Vietnamese authorities have warned the fish farmers that their water quality does not meet international standards. When such a generalised statement is made, it may conjure up in our minds that all Vietnamese fish farmers have been told this and that the quality issue is significant. That may or may not be true as the statement is so generalised that it could equally have meant that maybe just two farmers have been told something or other related to their farming practices, perhaps in an effort to improve quality just as the CSIRO might do with all sorts of farmers in Australia.


I am not saying that such is the case but simply that the statements are examples of classic spin doctoring in their vague use of descriptive collective language. All of which seeks to appeal to the risk averseness evident in the majority of people. This is the same as what IBM termed FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) as a great tactical sales ploy to paint a worrying picture in customers' minds about competitors' products.

FUD is a well known tactic amongst sales and marketing folk and indeed one that I employed very successfully with the sales teams that I trained and deployed in very competitive markets in parts of my career. Accordingly, I know the technique well and can spot the use of FUD very well. The essence of the technique is that you don't actually have to make solid claims about the "badness" of the competitor's product, you just have to raise some doubts in the customers' mind. Vagueness works a treat. That is what we are seeing in this video, imho.


On the other hand, later in the video, you will see what looks like the cleanest, most hygienic, most efficient processing plants on the planet.

I refer this to readers in the interest of full disclosure but I am still just as much in the dark as to whether Basa is good for us or not.

http://www.vimeo.com/11817894


.

[Lovey80]

While I too love to take exception when I think propaganda is being flung at me I must say I have a problem when it comes to buying Seafood in general in Australia.

The question I have to ask is, if we weren't exporting so much of our top quality seafood (fish, prawns etc) would we be paying so much for it at the shops? Would Basa and vanemei prawns even be that much cheaper and hence allow the foreign products to get a foot hold in the first place?

Half the population was up in arms about the Resources super tax and the other half were quite ready to stick it to the big miners for "our fair share' of "OUR" resources. Yet here we are exporting "our" fish because the Japanese or whoever else is prepared to pay more for it and forcing the price of the same product here and forcing many to go to a cheaper imported product they can afford.

Im not much of a protectionist because at the end of the day you have to stay competitive with everyone else but if we only exported the actual excess of food that Australia doesn't consume then maybe we could all afford to eat more aussie seafood.

[goanna1]

just for the record fish are extremley sensitive to pesticides eg .005 ppm is enough to roll fish I doubt that any would survive the so called contaminated water in Vietnam.

Ah well where ingnorance is bliss

[BillR1]

In a way I may be off topic but I think not too much. I like basa and have found it to be good eating. I prefer whiting. I am a keen home gardner as well as enjoying fishing.

A large proportion of Australia's tomatoes come from Queensland, the capital of the dreaded fruit fly. These flies absolutely destroy summer crops of field tomatoes unless a regime of regular spraying is carried out ( eg Rogor, Lebaycid).

All those great looking tomatoes in the stores ( and farmer markets too ) are only possible through pesticide spraying, otherwise you will be eating tomatoes full of worms.

And a lot of other "fresh" Australian produce is only possible through heavy spraying. It is just the nature of the pests we have.

I only mention this because some people are critical of other countries and seem to believe anything Australian is clear of strong pesticides. Wish it was true but it ain't so.

Organic sprays you say - the fruit fly laugh at anything you can throw at them.

BillR

[charleville]

I only mention this because some people are critical of other countries and seem to believe anything Australian is clear of strong pesticides. Wish it was true but it ain't so.

Thanks BillR1.

When I was a stupid youth, I used to do a party trick of chewing up a razor blade in my mouth. I had watched a bloke do it in a sideshow once when I was a young kid and had closely observed his technique and copied it.

I sometimes also ate the skin of a pineapple as a lead up to the razor chewing trick.

However, a mate from a pineapple farm warned me against doing that because of the danger of residue pesticides in the pineapple skin. He said that although the rules were that a couple of days were supposed to elapse between spraying and harvest, one could not guarantee that such was the case.

Who would have thought that eating pineapple skins would be more hazardous than chewing razor blades? :o

I reckon that you would be right in what you say. I don't think that Aussie primary producers in general have ever been too reticent about spraying crops with all sorts of stuff that would do harm to seafood if it leaches or drifts into the waterways.


.

[PinHead]

you only have to do some reading on one the chemicals they use..glyophosate to see the results. There are many more sprayed on the food crops..let alone what they blast some with in cold rooms for ripening.

There may be fresh produce available but it sure ain't all that good for you.

[finga]

Cant believe some of you guys are defending catfish! and imported catfish at that!
. Me personally I dont care if the fish are hand raised by 18y old naked virgins and fed caviar for lunch or fed their dead offspring for dinner in a fetid swamp.

Its CATFISH!.. And I bet most of you blokes chuck back every catfish you catch.




I recall being a kid in western Queensland and thinking that the freshwater catfish that we caught there were pretty good. :D However, it is true that I have never kept a seafaring one.
Gees we must be either poor or really, really bad fisherpersons
We eat the saltwater catfish (or dogfish as they're known in NSW) and love them if they're caught in clean water.
We started eating them when we fed some to my brother when we were a little short for a feed and he commented on how good the whiting was. After that I had to try it for myself and the rest is history. Any catty over 300mm long go to the pan.
We eat the freshwater catty's (jew up these parts) too. Beaut-ti-ful if caught in water without mud on the bottom like what's in Lesley Dam.
So Flex....mate, where are these 18 year old virgins??
Are there naked blokes too because the cook wants to get in on the act watching these naked virgins hand raising fish as well ::)

[goanna1]

Basa is wedible but there is much better fish to be had any body for nile perch

[charleville]

In view of the recent revelations about the unsafe levels of bad stuff in the Brisbane river, both before and after the floods, that Vietnamese Basa looks like it is downright healthy..... http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=172926





.

[Marlin_Mike]

Basa are just down right butt ugly ;D........................ a head only a mother could love ::).................. no wait, scratch that........ maybe not even a mother can love Basa's head........................ ;):P rather pay a bit more for some good Queensland fish

Mike

[onerabbit]

So Flex....mate, where are these 18 year old virgins??

Don't think you will find many of them in Australia......

Muzz

[BILLY THE KID]

At work i see around 3500 - 4000 plts of Basa , Nile perch , Vannamei prawns and alot of other seafood every day ;D .

AQIS is on the button with any seafood imported and if it doesnt pass their tests , it goes back overseas. It will not hit the shops without a quarentine release form sent to the importer first . It will not be destroyed or deep buried in Australia if any tests are fails it is re-containered and sent back to where it came from .




If you have had a piece of fish from any takeaway / restuarant or a seafood basket then you have had all of the above , you will probably find the chips are from overseas aswell


It isnt just woolies and coles that get it and that is a guarenteed fact so i wouldnt be too concerned as you have probably eaten it many times before without ever knowing , If you are reading this then you are not dead from eating imported fish


Dont ask me for names or businesses that receive any imported fish as i wont reply :-X