Mass Tilapia deaths recorded

Over 100 tonnes of Tilapia at various fish farms in the Eastern Region have died.

Officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been to the fish farms since last week to supervise the mass burial.

The worst affected farms include Amur Fisheries at Asikuma, Tropo farms located in Mpakadan, Vision 2000, West Africa Fish farms and several other fish farms operating behind the Akosombo Dam.

Even though the cause of deaths is not readily known, authorities from the EPA, Fisheries Commission and NADMO are suspecting a failed cross-breeding with foreign big tilapia and multiple over caging to cash in on the festive season.

In October this year, more than 18 tonnes of Tilapia at Fujian Farms at Asutsuare in the Shai Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region were found dead.

The full investigative report on the incident absolved the company of the suspicion that it used poisonous substances in farming the fish after samples of the fish were sent to the Ghana Standards Authority and also outside the country for testing.

Officials of NADMO and the Office of National Security destroyed and buried the dead fish to avoid human consumption.