Tens of thousands of fish found dead in Tiberias marine area. Health and Agriculture Ministries ban fishing until cause of mortality is determined, suspect fishermen might have been responsible for mass poisoning.

The Health and Agriculture Ministries warned the public Saturday no to purchase fish originating from the Tiberias marine, or other lake Kinneret fish bought from unknown sources, following the discovery of thousands of dead fish in the lake.

All fishing in the Kinneret has in the meantime been prohibited, and Health Ministry inspectors have been stationed in the area to enforce the ban.

Ministry teams sent to markets in the region have not found so far any poisoned fish that might have reached the stands. The teams also collected dead fish and transferred them for lab tests, the results of which are not expected before Sunday.

Zeev Fish, national public health inspector for the Health Ministry, told Ynet: "We received information this morning of extensive fish mortality at the marine area in Tiberias. We sent our teams and Agriculture Ministry teams to inquire, and found tens of thousands of dead fish there."

The inspectors suspect that the fish had been deliberately poisoned by fishermen hoping to increase their catch. "There have been incidents in the past in which fishermen threw poison into the water, and this is the worst case scenario," Fish added. "If this is indeed the case, I hope that the perpetrators will be apprehended."