Malaysians have been urged to ignore rumours that fish have been tainted by feeding on corpses after Asia's tsunami disaster and put seafood back on the table to help fishermen get back in business.

Scare stories about tainted fish were affecting the income of fishermen in Malaysia's tsunami hit areas on Penang island and the northwestern coast, where some 68 people died, Consumer Affairs Minister Shafie Apdal said in comments published today.

"We do not want such a situation to persist and I advise fishermen to go to sea because the government is giving all kinds of aid and the people should eat fish because it is safe for consumption," he told local media.

Safe protein

The World Health Organisation (WHO) director general Lee Jong-Wook at the weekend said fish being caught off the tsunami-battered Sri Lankan coast were safe to eat and urged locals to return to their favourite dish.

"The World Health Organisation always encourages people to eat fish, it is a good source of safe protein," Lee told a media conference.

Shopkeepers said spooked Sri Lankans had stopped buying seafood as they were fearful of eating fish that may have been feeding on corpses washed out to sea by the tsunami.

But Lee said there was "no problem" in eating fish caught off the Sri Lankan coast. Other experts have said the only problems in eating fish in tsunami-affected areas were psychological.

At least 156,000 people died in the 11 countries struck by the tsunamis on December 26, many of them still missing and believed washed out to sea.