A group of carefully selected officers of the Fisheries Commission of Ghana have been
trained on fish health and biosecurity by Fish Health Inspectors from the Centre for
Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), an agency of the United (UK) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The course was sponsored by the Animal Health System Strengthening Project (AHSS), a UK overseas development assistance project managed by DEFRA.
This marks a significant milestone in Ghana’s quest to strengthen its aquatic health system to better protect from, detect, and respond to known and emerging aquatic diseases.
The trained officers include Ghana’s only four (4) fishery veterinarians and twenty-seven
(27) fisheries officers who double as extension officers but have never benefitted from any
fish health and biosecurity training.
The officers are now able to promote fish disease prevention and management strategies as part of the extension services for fish farmers and promote the sustainable development of aquaculture.
As part of the week-long practically oriented activities, Cefas’ Fish Health Inspectors,
engaged their Ghanaian counterparts in knowledge and skills transfer activities. The officers
engaged in a fictional fish mortality and subsequent disease investigation scenario at the
Ghana Fisheries Commission’s Pilot Aquaculture Centre at Kona-Odumase in the Ashanti
region.
Aquaculture best practice biosecurity measures were discussed and identified risk
mitigation measures on pond and cage sites were collected and reviewed. Issues of poor
water quality, fish stocking, fish husbandry, discussions on disinfections methods (both
personal and for the fish farm site), antimicrobial use and resistance (AMR), and standardised
fisheries documents and templates were introduced to the officers.
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