Tuesday, October 14, 2014

RESTOCKING LAKE MALAWI MAY BE PRE-MATURE

Chambo Fisheries a Blantyre based fish farming industry says restocking Lake Malawi is possible as in the following article of 14 October 2014 in Nation News Paper:

http://mwnation.com/chambo-fisheries-says-can-restock-lake-malawi-chambo/

What Malawians should know is that there is a scientific backed frame work which is called Chambo Restoration Plan. Before the over-zealous journalist and individuals indulge into such complex undertakings they have to do their home work well. A restoration process of the Lake or River as id done in some of the world as is quoted in the paper is not the same as dumping trush fish into a natural habitat. A lot of thinking has to go through this process, most and first of all is the genetic impact the new populations are going to have on the receiving populations, the behavior and survival mechanism of the introduced populations after being domesticated and genetically being manipulated as a population itself. the way the story has been portrayed is as if, what is lacking are the number of seed fish also ka fingerlings in aquatic field. No fingerlings is not the issue and even the company claiming to have the numbers.

Journalist can do better to contact National Aquaculture Centre, a government institution which has the mandate and authority to do such kind of work in any country in the World.