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'Tiki Tiki' fish to control mosquito population
Experiment launched in Portmore
BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com
Saturday, December 17, 2011
AN experiment using Gambusia, commonly called 'Tiki Tiki' fish, to rid the growing Portmore community in St Catherine of mosquitoes began yesterday.
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Robert Montague released 3,000 Gambusia into a pond at Adare Drive in Waterford, which was identified as one of the major breeding spot for mosquitoes following a survey by the Ministry of Health.
MONTAGUE... should the experiment work, we intend to roll this out across the island
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According to the minister, fogging only kills the adult mosquitoes but that the Gambusia will feed on the mosquito larvae, hence reducing the mosquito population.
Under the project, which is a combined effort of the health ministry, the Portmore Municipality and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, a total of 10,000 fishes will be released into ponds overall over the next three days. Following that, officers from the Ministry of Health will visit the site within the next two weeks to do a follow-up survey to see if the measure is working before carrying out monthly surveys during the six-month duration of the project.
"Should the experiment work, we intend to roll this out not only in Portmore but across the island through our agriculture department of the ministry. The biological control of mosquitoes has been used in eastern countries and in the pacific and what we have discovered is that in the sixties a lot of these countries actually imported the finger link (Gambusia) from Jamaica. So we will be using the resources that we have to eliminate the mosquitoes," Montague said.
Mayor of Portmore Keith Hinds welcomed the project and said that he is hopeful that the project will be a success as it would mean a lot to the people of Portmore.
"If this works, this is going to be a big relief on the part of the citizens because the truth of the matter is that I have been telling people that fogging of mosquitoes is a temporary measure. It really doesn't even last for a week and you could fog today, fog tomorrow, fog the other day and the day after that mosquitoes will still be biting you," he said.
Senior public health inspector at the St Catherine Public Health Department, Simeon Bromfield, said that the project is a step in the right direction as it is a better solution than fogging and is more environmentally friendly.
"For quite some time now we have been having some problems with regards to mosquitoes and infestation and the residents have always being complaining and have asked for fogging which is not the answer," he said.
"This biological control is what we encouraged as other treatment such as the pouring of petrol will affect marine life. This is certainly 100 per cent environmentally friendly by using natural predators and if this is effective then there will be no need for fogging," he added.
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