GAA committed to ensuring ban on ornamental fishes and tilapia species - PRO

The Ghana Aquaculture Association (GAA) has pledged support towards the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development on the ban against the importation of ornamental fishes and tilapia species.

The ban by the Ministry, effective July 1 to December 31, 2018, follows the recent outbreak of the Tilapia Lake Virus which currently has no known treatment modes.

A statement by the Ministry of Fisheries disclosed that the virus represented a huge risk to the global tilapia industry.

“This means all countries should be vigilant and act quickly to investigate cases of mortalities in farms,” the statement read.

According to the Association, various measures have already been taken to safeguard fish farms from the virus as well as other viruses to ensure that none of the diseases surface in Ghana.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the Public Relations Officer of GAA, Angelo Habib, maintained that some preventive measures, including an ongoing awareness training for GAA farmers in respect of good husbandry practices on farms, have been put in place to protect the fishing industry.

“We are working actively with the fisheries commission and other relevant government agencies to uphold government’s ban on the importation of foreign tilapia unto the Ghanaian market,” Habib said admitting that the GAA has been aware of this virus for some five years.

He assured the fish-eating public, in his address, that “your locally produced tilapia fish is healthy and absolutely safe to consume with no risk, whatsoever, to anybody’s health.”

Stressing on how Ghanaians can identify healthy tilapia fish to buy, he said the fish should have clear eyes, fresh red-coloured gills and a shiny healthy shades of gray scales.