The past couple of weeks have not been alluring for both the tilapia market and lovers of the delicacy as the industry is embroiled in a destructive crisis.
The befuddling stories about the fresh water fish have turned many consumers away from their meals of tilapia, banku and ground or blended spicy pepper and tomatoes. The many sellers of fresh tilapia and those engaged in its production have had to bear the brunt of the drop in demand: a reality which has impacted negatively on their earnings. As an industry which has attracted massive investment, the unfolding development should be tackled with seriousness.
Having served as the source of employment for many persons, we are talking about an important segment of the economy.
While some of the stories about the industry are fishy and therefore baseless, others represent the truth. Be as it may, it is a fact that there is a problem with the tilapia produced locally, a situation occasioned by the viral attack of some farms especially in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions of the county as evidenced by the unusual destruction of many stocks belonging to different investors.
It is heartwarming that some laboratories abroad are probing the unusual deaths.
Another theory which gained currency last week was about Chinese investors in the tilapia industry engaging in a turf war. One of them is said to have used subterfuge to poison the stock of his colleague to gain an edge over him. The veracity of this should be established because we cannot allow foreigners to endanger such an important industry with an inappropriate conduct.
We acknowledge the recent hike in demand for tilapia, an important source of protein its replacement for red meat being worthy of satisfaction.
Although it was gradually getting out of the reach of the ordinary Ghanaian, the cost being the reason the status quo should be restored as soon as possible. The manner in which information from the industry was managed caused the fear and panic experienced by the many consumers across the country.
In the midst of the crisis, there was no central information management outlet as various agencies issued updates in an uncoordinated manner which only aggravated the fears of consumers.
As a result of the confusion, we do not even know whether to continue patronizing tilapia. We are disappointed in how the policing of the dead stock of the Chinese farms was carried out; seeing some hitting the market and endangering lives.
Under the circumstances, the industry would require a massive PR effort to restore confidence of consumers in the tilapia fish. Until then, the roadside tilapia joints and their restaurant counterparts would remain on a long or short leave – their return to business depending on how early the situation is normalized.
A periodic update from the ongoing research into the deaths of so many tilapias must be served consumers as part of a grand plan to assuage the fears being entertained by those who have been attached to the tilapia delicacy.
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