The recent deaths of tilapia has called for public concerns on the consumption of the animal in Ghana.
The death of these fishes which started in the first week of October 2018 had a cross-section of the public suspecting poisoning from drainage into the river from a tissue factory nearby.
A report indicated that the tilapia which were farmed in a cage culture, meaning they were put in cages which were in the Volta river were dying without any course.
Others suspected the Chinese variety of fingerlings imported into the country could not stand conditions here, so they died off after a certain age.
Meanwhile, a response from an Aquaculture expert, Edem Bara in an exclusive interview with Awake News’ Kofi Tamakloe indicated that the death is not as a result of importation of Chinese fish nor from poisoning but rather due to environmental factors.
I know some of you may have heard of news regarding death of tilapia in huge droves due to poisoning or some other factors and that you should stay away from tilapia.
I want to state here that that is not true at all. The current mortality rate is the combined effects of the seasonal opening of the Bagre Dam of Burkina Faso and the very heavy rainfall in the recent weeks. These events have drastically changed the environmental factors of the fish which is water in which they live.
It is normal for fish and other livestock like ruminants and poultry to die in commercial farming due to one factor or the other. Fish die due to poor dissolved oxygen content, higher temperatures, diseases and other health effects.
The ideal thing done is to collect all the dead fish, and bury them; at least 2 meters deep in the ground and then sprinkle an adequate amount of Calcium Oxide (lime) and then cover it for natural decomposition to take place. He explained.
Edem also lamented on bad processing of dead fishes and caution that this activity should be avoided.
Some farms try to cut corners and cash in on the dead fish by selling them to traders who salt them and turn them into koobi. This is not a good practice as the movement of dead diseased fish can enhance the spread of the pathogens hence increasing the problem. This practice has been halted and the said farms instructed to dispose their tilapia as stated above.
The expert was optimistic that there is no cause for alarm inspite of all the hullabaloo.
The videos and pictures circulating around are just advanced cases of normal incidents that happen typically around this time of year where there are heavy rains. There is therefore no cause for alarm.
As much as we all need to be careful of what we eat, do not let any fake news prevent you from enjoying your tilapia. Buy your tilapia from verified and responsible farms who use the best cultural practices to provide good and healthy fish.
Responding to a press release by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development ( MoFAD) on the 18th of June, this year which placed a ban on the importation of all ornamental fishes and tilapia species (live and dead) including gammetes – eggs and milt into the country taking effect from the 1st of July to 31st December this year to help control a significant mortalities in farmed tilapia caused by Tilapia Lake Virus (TILV), Edem believed is not the case and cannot be as a result to the recent fish mortality.
Check from that ministry how many times they have banned tilapia import.
They have banned tilapia import like 40 times. All rivers across the continent are someway interconnected. The virus is highly possible to get here but that should be a worry to the farmers because the virus is not zoonotic (Trans species diseases which can be transferred from the fish to humans).
I don’t think that virus is in Ghana yet, can’t be too sure though. He added.
By: Kofi Tamakloe
For more news:
0243583152 .
Email: kofitamakloe20@gmail.com
