The Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministry has rubbished claims that some Chinese engaged in fish farming in the country are using steroids to produce tilapia.
According to the Deputy Minister, Francis Kingsley Ato Cudjoe, the suspicion gained grounds after it was said that the type of tilapia bred by these foreigners suspected to be from China, Bangladesh and India mature in a relatively short period compared to the species known by Ghanaian farmers’.
But reacting to the matter, the deputy minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, claimed the ministry has not attained any single evidence after they thoroughly investigated the issue hence Tilapia is safe for consumption.
“We have not seen evidence. They should be careful. We have those with good tilapia. Our offices are open if anyone has proof. There are some issues that we get and realize it’s untrue. I will plead with them to take heart. Otherwise we would destroy people’s business. If it’s true we would tell them…” he confirmed.
He added that, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture will soon breakthrough with the ‘Fish Head’ policy which aims to regulate the importation and exportation of fishes in the country.
The Member of Parliament for Ekumfi constituency, vowed to continue fighting against illegal methods of fishing in the country.
“These are rumours we have heard. We are coming with a fish head policy. We are going to tighten the importation and deportation of fishes. For now we don’t have laws regulating aquatic resources…”
“It’s a sad issue. Most method is fishing is wrong. We know some use dynamite and DTT. We have heard. We are fighting seriously against it. We have fishes watch volunteers to fight all these. We are equally disturbed. We catch them always. You can’t see them pour the chemicals. But when they return from the looks of the fish we get to know…” he said on Okay FM.
