Fish farming in nigeria

Fish farming is one of the most lucrative agricultural businesses across the globe. Fish farming in Nigeria is not left out as well; in fact Nigeria is one of the most consumers of fish in the world owing to the large population of the country. Research as shown that Nigeria requires about 2.66 million metric tonnes of fish annually and domestic fish production is estimated at less than 0.7 million metric tonne per year. This has made it so difficult for Nigeria to satisfy the fish dietary requirement of its citizens thereby resulting to the importation of fish from other countries. Nigeria has no reason to import Fish from other countries considering the favourable environment of the country for agriculture including fish farming, yet Nigeria is one of the heavy importers of fish from abroad. This is because both the government and individuals have failed to harness the business opportunity in this sector. Do you know that the government is ready to ban the importation of fish from abroad? Yes government wants to do that, provided people are ready to go into fish farming in Nigeria and meet the dietary needs of the people. This is where you as a smart entrepreneur should come in and take the opportunity with both hands. Fish farming is truly an avenue to create wealth if proper utilized. This is because there is ready made market for the business considering the fish consumption statistics given above. The more the people tap into fish farming in Nigeria, the better for them and the country at large. More jobs will be created leading to reduction of unemployment, Nigeria foreign reserves will be conserved when the importation is stopped and poverty will also be reduced to the barest minimum. FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA-COMMON FISH SPECIES The most common fishes raised in Nigeria are Carp, Tilapia, and Catfish, but catfish is the most popular of them all. There is high demand for catfish and this has made the fish the most popular among all the types of fishes. There are many species of catfish but the common ones found in Nigeria are: Heteroclatias Clarias geriepenius Heterobranchus bidorsalis FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA- REQUIREMENT The basic requirements for fish farming are land, water supply and Ponds. LAND: This is the first requirement for fish farming. One will need to get at least half a plot of land at a suitable place, preferably close to a source of water especially river. The facilities that will be on the land you will acquire are Ponds, water supply, drainage system and possibly the farm house. The fish farm site should have good access to road and near to market. WATER SUPPLY: reliable source of water must be made available before going into fish farming because this is one of the most important requirements for fish farming. Either bore hole water or natural water (from river, stream etc) is the best for fish farming. On no account should chemically treated water especially tap water should be used for fish farming. Other require under this category are Installation of overhead tank, pumping machine and Pipes. POND(S): Construction of a standard pond will go a long way to determine the success of your business. To get the best out of fish farming, the services of expert should be sought for, for the construction of fish ponds. FISH FARMING IN NIGERIA- OPERATIONAL PROCESSES After setting up the fish farm, the thing is to go swing into action immediately by starting fish farming operation. The following are the major operational processes of fish farming: FISH BREEDING/BUYING OF FINGERLINGS: This is the first process in the operation of fish farming. There are so many methods to breed fish, but this article is not going into details of that. If you’re just starting up, I recommend that you buy fingerlings instead of worrying yourself with breeding from the scratch; this is because breeding process is technical. After getting your fingerlings, put them into the pond and you are good to go. At the early stage of fingerlings you will have to give them enough attention by providing zooplankton which serves as their feeds that plays essential role in their survival. You will also need to battle the problem of cannibalism, predation by frogs and aquatic insect and abiotic problem that may arise as result of high temperature of the water in the pond METHOD OF FEEDING: You will need to feed the fishes appropriately to ensure maximum growth and yield. The feeds that will be given must be crude feeds rich in essential amino- acids like lysine, argine, methionine etc. The best feed for fish is fishmeal but due to the cost fish farmers are now using alternative feeds from both animal and plant sources. The most common substitutes are groundnut cake, soybean mea,l all which also contains the essential nutrient needed by the fishes. You may not need worrying yourself with fish feed formulation, all you need do is get a reliable vendor where you can buy them. Care must be taken in your choice of vendor to ensure you choose a vendor that supplies quality feeds. There are different feeding methods but the most common method used in Nigeria and which we recommend is pellated floating feeds. This method reduces feed wastage and at the same time ensures adequate feeding of the fishes. It is advisable to put the feeds at one section of the pond instead of scattering it all over the surface of the water to minimize wastage. POND WATER CHANGING: This simply means the process of changing the old pond water and replacing it with fresh one. Pond water changing is essential so as to eliminate pollutants such as phosphates and protein which inhibit fish health and growth. Many fish farmers do not change their pond water and this result in fish slow growth, illness, and change of colour of fishes. This is a bad practice and you should not follow that pattern. The recommended water change is 60-70% two or three times in a year. This can be done by simply draining the water in the pond down 60-70% and then add dechlorinator. Then refill the pond with fresh water. FISH POND HARVEST: The last operational method is harvesting. This process may be as simple as draining the water and then herding, confining and removing fishes with deep net. But if the pond is a raised one, harvesting can be complex and labour intensive. Pond harvest should take place during the cooler part of the day. The harvest process comprises of draining and seining. The pond is first drain partially to about 20-30% to concentrate the fishes. After that the pond is repeatedly seined until most of the fishes are captured. The pond can then be drained further and the seining process repeated. Fish farming in Nigeria is a lucrative business. While not trying it today and see where the business will take you to in the nearest future. See you at the top.