AMMAN — The
head of the
Jordan Valley Farmers Union, Adnan Khaddam, told
Jordan News that
tens of thousands of carps died in Jordan Valley fish farms, with losses
exceeding JD300,000.
اضافة اعلان
Initially it was
believed that the fish died from Koi Herpesvirus. However, later on Wednesday,
Directorate of Animal Production at the
Ministry of Agriculture Director Khalil
Amr said that final lab results of tests on the dead carp showed that the fish
were free of this viral epidemic.
Amr added that
death was due to a fungal infection caused by the gill rot disease, which can
be treated and managed.
According to
Khaddam, the disease spread from the south Jordan Valley toward the north,
affecting 90 percent of carp farms,
which have been bred farmers and the state Treasury, to meet the needs of
the local market.
Ministry of
Agriculture spokesperson
Lawrence Al-Majali told
Jordan News that the ministry
is monitoring the issue, and that an epidemic is possibly threatening fish
farms, with symptoms beginning four days ago in the Al-Zour areas, which draws
water from the Jordan River.
He added that
fungal gill rot disease does not constitute an epidemic case and will not
affect humans or animals.
Majali added
that the ministry is working on developing a program to manage the disease in
the short, medium and long term.
Minister of
Agriculture
Khaled Hneifat asked that all treatment-importing procedures be
facilitated to deal with this disease, adding that “there is full cooperation
with the Jordan Fish farming and Aquaculture Association”.
Chairman of the
association Mohamad Shaheen told
Jordan News that it is normal for fish to get
infected, “especially in fattening projects”, adding that fluctuations in
temperatures led to a decrease in the immunity of fish.
Shaheen stressed
that the matter requires immediate action, assessment and compensation for
farmers for their losses, work on insulation and sterilization of water, and
feed examination.
According to Khaddam, it
is important to have specialists in fish farming to deal with pests and
diseases, and to support farmers by reducing production costs.
Read more Features
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
