Many Moods of Tilapia at Devon House Friday

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is inviting Jamaicans to experience the ‘Many Moods of Tilapia’ on the grounds of Devon House on Friday, November 25.

The tilapia cook-off, which will start at 10:00 a.m., will showcase the best of 21 entries from 16 contestants.

Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank, Senior Aquaculture Extension Officer in the Aquaculture Branch of the NFA, Nadia McNeish, said the competition is part of a campaign to market tilapia to Jamaicans.

“The Many Moods of Tilapia competition encourages persons to use tilapia by cooking it in different forms. The competition will highlight the versatility of the fish,” she noted.

Ms. McNeish said that judging will begin at 11:30 a.m. “We’ll have judges from the Jamaica 4-H Clubs and our guest judge, Jacqui Tyson. They will be judged based on taste and presentation because they would have already been judged in the preliminary section for ease of preparation, type of dish, creativity and use of local seasonings,” she informed. The preliminary rounds ran from September 19 to October 19.

The tilapia cook-off coincides with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries ‘Eat Jamaican Day’ celebrations, which will also be held at Devon House on the day. Meanwhile, Ms. McNeish is encouraging more Jamaicans to get into tilapia production.

“What we are concerned about here in Jamaica is that fish is consumed three times more than it is produced,” she noted.

She is urging interested persons to contact the Aquaculture Branch.

“You can visit our offices or you can call us at 876-984-9343. We have personnel with lots of expertise available to assist you in getting started,” Ms. McNeish said.