That tuna fish landed as bycatch in Conception Bay this week will have to be destroyed as officials have deemed it unfit for human consumption.

It has become a raging controversy with people wondering why it could not have found its way to food banks to feed the hungry.

Daryl Walsh, senior compliance officer with DFO’s enforcement divisions, says tuna would normally be landed on a large boat and be bled soon after landing.

In this case, the fish died in the nets and ended up at the wharf many hours later.

The 746-pound tuna is in cold storage at the provincial facility in Whitbourne. Walsh says it will end up at a landfill.

He says they could not verify that it was safe to eat.

Provincial Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly he hopes, in future, the outcome would be different.

He was planning to visit the facility in Whitbourne but the quality issue is a responsibility of DFO.