MASJID TANAH: The Melaka Fisheries Department have denied that pollution is the cause of rotting fishes found along the two-kilometre coastal area between Sungai Tuang and Telok Gong.
Instead, the department said the ikan tamban pias (flatfish) were actually discarded by fishermen, when many of them were tangled in the fishing net.
Department director Mohd Fauzi Salehon said its officers had analysed samples of the fish carcasses, which were usually discarded due to their zero "market value".
"The fish carcasses were found on the beach with their mouths open, and we believe it was due to being caught in fishing nets.
"Since there were too many fishes tangled in the net, fishermen had to release it back to the sea. The fishes were carried back by the waves to the shore," he said when contacted earlier today.
Mohd Fauzi added that the fishes were believed to have been discarded back into the sea around one or two weeks ago, but they may have ended up being washed up on the shores.
On Monday, residents said carcasses of the small flatfish were stinking up the beach and turned away some holidaymakers.
Checks at the coastal area earlier today found that the number of the fish carcasses had decreased.
