FISH FARMING

Fish farming or pisciculture involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures such as fish ponds, usually for food. It is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture.

Fishery contributes significantly to the economy of Nigeria, to food and nutrition security, provides jobs particularly in the coastal areas where the poorest and most vulnerable reside.

“Fish represents the major source of protein available to most Nigerians, with an estimated per caput fish consumption of 13.3kg in 2013 with the total fisheries production in 2015 estimated at 1,027,000 metric tonnes to which marine catches contributed 36 per cent, inland waters catches 33 per cent and aquaculture 31 per cent. Fishery sector contributed 0.5 per cent of the National GDP in 2015,”

Nigeria expended $1.2billion in 2013 on fish importation and exported fish worth $284,390 million within the same period, citing Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO,2018).

News, background information and research results from Wageningen University & Research about national and international fish farming (aquaculture).

One point of improvement according to Professor Verreth is the conversion efficiency of feed protein into edible protein from meat or fish. According to his calculations this is 34% for salmon, which is higher than the efficiency for chicken listed in the literature.

The efficiency of tilapia is between 13% and 22%, depending on which parts of the fish are eaten (which is often culturally determined).

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