Shandong fishery association yesterday reached a preliminary agreement with its counterpart in Shanghai to allow the province's turbot fish to be sold in the city's market as early as next week, Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

Sales of turbot from the province plunged about two weeks ago after the city's food safety authority announced it found small amounts of a cancer-causing antibiotic in the popular seafood dish. Beijing and Guangzhou also suspended selling the fish soon after.

"We are confident about the sales of turbot on Shanghai's market," a senior official with the association told the newspaper yesterday.

Shanghai's largest seafood market, the Tongchuan Road Aquatic Products Wholesale Market, has resumed selling turbots since this week.

Any turbots on sale in local markets must have quarantine certificates issued by the administrative department from their place of production, the city's health officials said.

"We require our Shandong counterpart to offer a name list of turbot farmers with good records in their province," said an official with the Shanghai Fisheries Trade Association, which is involved in the negotiation.

"Authentic quarantine certificates for the fish are a must," the official said.

Officials from Qingdao City of Shandong Province promised they would provide the name list and certificates. "We may collect public opinions on how to build a trustful brand for our local turbots," said an official from Qingdao.

A Shandong fishery medicine franchiser, surnamed Lu, said in a previous interview that almost all turbo fish breeders are using AOZ, a carcinogenic antibiotic.