We Have Not Banned Tilapia Intake And Imports – Dr Ziddah

The Head of Fish Health Unit Of the Fisheries Commission, Dr  Peter Ziddah in an Interview with Radio 1 News on Friday, October 19 2018 has emphatically stated that the commission has not banned import or intake of Tilapia as being purported.

This was in response to the ongoing speculations that about 18,000 tonnes of unwholesome Chinese GMO fishes have been destroyed in Asutuare in the Shai Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region.

However, he admitted there is a problem and they are now working on it in the lab to find out what really it is and will surely keep the nation updated of the outcome.

Reports gathered so far indicate that the fish affected were from only  Chinese farms. It happened  in the first week of October, 2018. The tilapia were farmed in a cage culture, meaning they were put in cages which were in the Volta river. The tilapia were dying without any course. Some people suspected poisoning from drainage into the river from a tissue factory nearby. Others suspected the Chinese variety of fingerlings imported into the country could not stand conditions here, so they died off after a certain age.

While the Chinese dug trenches and were buying the dead tilapia, for the two weeks running, Ghanaian traders have been collecting the fish to major market centers to be sold fresh, fried or after been processed into salted fish.

From the look of things such tilapia have found their way to the nation’s capital, Accra, Tema and beyond. Major market centers like Dzemeni and some trade links along the Volta lake have their fair share of these fish which died out of yet to be known courses.

The authority has taken sample of the water and dead fish for texting to determine course of death.

What is noted is that it is only in the Chinese farms that the fish are dying without any course.

By: Radio1News|Ghana