Fisheries Commission investigates tilapia death at Asutsuare

By Lydia
Kukua Asamoah, GNA

Accra, Oct. 19, GNA – The Fisheries Commission
has started investigations into the cause of death of tilapia stock, a delicacy
to many Ghanaians, at the Fujian Farm at Asutsuare in the Eastern Region.

The Fujian Farm, a Chinese company, was
reported to have recorded mass deaths of its tilapia stock, which has been
circulating on social media since Thursday, October 18.

The Fisheries Commission, on Friday, confirmed
the report of the dead tilapia to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), but said intense
investigations were underway.

Dr Peter Azedah, the Head of Fish Health at
the Fisheries Commission, told the GNA in a telephone interview that the Fujian
Farm had been closed down while samples of the fish had been sent for
laboratory test both at home and abroad.

He said the Commission had also ensured and
supervised the burial of all the dead fish and so there was no cause for alarm.

He said the Commission got wind of the dead
tilapia Sunday evening and that on Monday, October 15, officials went to the
scene to ascertain the veracity of the news, which was confirmed on arrival
that over 20 tonnes of fish had died.

Dr Azedah said from the initial observation it
could be deduced that the death was as a result of “environmental process or
something being wrong with the water they were living in.”

However, he urged the general public to be
patient and wait for the lab result being expected from Britain, Norway and
France as well as from the local laboratory centre in Ghana.

Since the initial observation did not connect
the cause of death to any disease, there was no possibility that other
neighbouring farms could be affected.

However, Dr Azeda advised other farms to
improve the bio-security of their farms to protect their fish stock.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) is
also assessing the situation, particularly concerning the fear of the public as
to whether some of the tilapia might have been sent to the markets for public
consumption.

An official from the FDA expressed the belief
that none of the dead tilapia had found its way to the open market because all
the women seen in videos circulating have been arrested and the tilapia seized
and destroyed.

GNA  

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