By Ayodele Abere
The genetic improvement of hatchery species should be given higher priority by the Government and Research Institutes to meet future challenges in hatchery.
This was made known by a Professor of Fish Breeding and Genetics, Professor Ronald Omotayo Fagbuaro, who was the inaugural lecturer at the 79th inaugural lecture of the Ekiti State University, held at the University campus in the capital city of Ekiti State with the title; FISH: THE UNAVOIDABLE AQUATIC GOLD.
According to the Professor, this will increase productivity and turnover rate, results in better utilization of resources and reduce production costs. Adding that efficient breeding plans should be developed for new species and better genetic controls need to be developed for monitoring the progress of breeding programmes.
The Don said there’s need for greater intervention for closer examinations of many other wild species saying not all fish species perform well in culture.
Fagbuaro noted that the rapid development of fish production coupled with the introduction of super-intensive fish farming system has led to the improvement of productivity, and adaptability of fish species.
“The improvement involved hybridization which simply means heterospecific insemination. It is the method used in combining desirable characteristics of one species of fish with another in order to produce offspring of superior quality than the parental species”. Said he.
The inaugural lecturer who explained that the use of human growth hormone posed a great danger to the fish consumers said there should be law against breeding of fish with human growth hormone.
Stressing further, “when the antibiotics and some other medications intended for human use are used in breeding fish, the major long-term effect is that the chemicals or drugs will be stored in the tissues of those involved fish and when consumed by man, they end up consuming different doses of residues of the chemicals from the flesh of the fish which will eventually develop to tumours and cancers”.