Fish farming 101: do you know the best performing fish species generating billions of dollars each year? Find out now!

-

salmon sales in 2018 was valued at 13.75 billion euros

What is Fish Farming

Fish farming is a major type of aquaculture, and it is the farming of freshwater and saltwater fish in commercial tanks and enclosures such as ponds, for food or/and commercial purposes.

Pisciculture is defined as the rearing, breeding and transplantation of fish by artificial means for food. Many fish farming operations are grouped under pisciculture, while other fish farming operations are grouped under mariculture.

Fish farming just like the name implies, involves raising fish at a subsistence level or in commercial tanks and enclosures.

Fish farming is grouped into 3 categories namely:

1. Freshwater

2. Brackish water

3. Saltwater.


freshwater fish

Freshwater fish farming:
Freshwater fish farming refers to rearing and breeding freshwater fish species for economic purposes using equipments such as ponds, reservoirs, and tanks.

Natural resources commonly used in freshwater aquaculture includes lakes, rivers, and other inland waterways; including brackish waters. These natural resources mentioned l, play an important role in the freshwater fish farming.

A freshwater fish farm setup consist of earthen ponds, surface vats and concrete ponds, in which a continuous water flow-through is set up and maintained from a supply source such as a spring, stream, groundwater or used out flowing water circulated back into the ponds through airlift systems and purified using various filtration and bio medias.

Freshwater fish species that are commonly farmed include:
1. Catfish.
2. Tilapia
3. Carp.

Although, other freshwater fish species are reared as pets in aquarium tanks, and as such; are farmed and sold for such purposes.

Brackish water fish farming:
Brackish water is similar to freshwater except that the salinity is higher in brackish water than freshwater.

Salinity represents the quantity of dissolved salt(mainly sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate) in water, and is usually expressed in g/kg of water i.e. PPT or part per thousand. In brackish water systems, the salinity usually ranges between 0.5% to 30%.

Some of the most common sources of brackish water for aquaculture purposes are:


Estuaries


1. Estuaries; which are formed when freshwater meets seawater. The most extensive brackish water habitats in the world are estuaries which are points where a river meets the sea.

2. Technically mixing seawater with freshwater as done in commercial shrimp farms.

Common brackish water fish species include Atlantic croaker, Atlantic menhaden, Bluefish, Bonnet head sharks and Bull sharks.


saltwater cage system


Saltwater fish farming:
Saltwater aquaculture involves the rearing of saltwater fish populations on inland farms close to the sea or using cage system in the open waters.

Saltwater aquaculture makes use of seawater as the main water source due to its high salinity content.

Some of the most popular saltwater fish species cultured include:
1. Prawn
2. Green tiger shrimp.
3. Indian white shrimp.
3. Tuna

Globally the most economically and commercially important fish species that have potential to generate huge revenue includes:
1. Carp





2. Tilapia





3. Salmon





4. Catfish




They is a steady increase in the demand for fish and fish products globally and Asia is at the heart of the demand, and supply chain.

This high demand for fish has led to the over exploitation of wild fisheries in the high seas and ocean, and due to sustainability issues marine catches are on a steady low, while fish farming aquaculture, on the other hand, has been on the rise.

Recent advancements have been made in aquaculture; with automatic feeders and other water management and recycclelation systems in place, the yield from aquaculture farms have continued to increase.

However, the application of advanced technology and technical know how into the African aquaculture ecospace is key and will boost the regions fish farming industry and increase the yield per fish farm substantially, that way fish farming will be providing steady and reliable source of income for Africa's unemployed youths.

Africa is fast becoming a force to reckon with, in the global aquaculture scene, hence attention is now being focused on building the capacity of African farmers to increase the output from the region.

It is interesting to know that in 2010, Africa contributed 7,597,427 tonnes of fish to the global market, which represents 9% of global caught supply and according to data released by the FAO, this figure represented a 6.8 times increase from 1,100,387 tonnes in 1950.

Fish farming practices and operations are sometimes classified as either extensive or intensive.

Extensive fish farming.
This method of fish farming is mostly used by subsistence farmers in Africa. In this type of fish farming, the adult fishes are feed with algae, while the young fingerlings feed on zooplankton during growth. In extensive fish farms, natural food items are produced by fertilization of pond water, by application of fertilizer such as animal dung.

These systems make use of household waste such as left over foods and animal manure as an important raw material for pond fertilization to produce algae and zooplankton to serve as a alternate sources of food for the cultured fish species.

In extensive fish farming system, the purchase of commercial feed is kept at a very low level, rather crude sources of protein available locally i.e animal manure, left over foods and other natural feed items are utilized as fish feed.

The yield per pond is usually low in extensive fish farms. Extensive fish farming is less capital intensive and all production costs are reduced to the minimum.

extensive system are commonly integrated with the cultivation of certain crops like rice, vegitables and spice, where the waste water from the ponds becomes an input into the rice farm. This method is reported to have its advantages and it offers huge benefits for farmers who integrate fish farming with crop production.

Intensive fish farming.
This method of fish farming is characterized by its heavy reliance on commercial feeds as a primary source of protein. 


intensive fish farm

Many farms today operate intensive fish farming system due to its high production yield. Intensive fish farms can produce large tons of fish per pond compared to extensive farming. 

Intensive fish farms are large commercial farms that produce fish in large quantity. Although intensive fish farming is good, it usually encounters huge losses resulting from diseases and pests. Hence, proper understanding and knowledge about how to operate an intensive fish farm is critical to match supply with demand.

Another characteristics of extensive fish farming system is; its capital intensiveness otherwise, intensive fish farming system is efficient to operate and it is effective in reaching set goals. 

The RAS system is a sustainable intensive fish farming system that promotes the reuse of water. This system combines good water management with stocking density and good feeding regime.

It is not a secret that many intensive fish farms around the world thrive within the first 1 year. 


aquaponics system


Aquaponics is another intensive fish farming system that integrates fish farming with the cultivation of vegetables.

Aquaponics system is practiced commercially these days. Although only a handful of farmers practices aquaponics in Africa, it is also a good way to combine crop production with animal production. Aquaponics offers a good way to manage and reuse waste water from fishponds as inputs for crop production.

Conclusion:
Fish farming is the cultivation of freshwater and saltwater fish populations for consumption and commercial purposes. It can be classified as freshwater aquaculture, brackish water aquaculture and saltwater aquaculture.

Within each of the above classifications, they can still be further classifications into extensive and intensive systems, each being marked by its subsistence and commercial scale respectively.

What do you think about this post? Was it helpful to you? Tell us, we want to hear your view.


Please share this content what your friends by clicking the share button.


Popular posts from this blog

Make Money From Aquaculture And Catfish Farming Now.

-
Image
Make Money From Aquaculture And Catfish Farming Now. How to make money from fish farming aquaculture This article lays down the essential elements of fish farming  aquaculture , and at the end, key steps are outlined on how to set up a fish farm for the purposes of making money.  aquaculture  is a complex field of science. One that has existed since time inmemoria.  aquaculture  as it were, encompases various fields of sturdy within the scientific school, and as such, practitioners are expected to posses basic knowledge of laws that guide certain processes in chemistry, physics and biology.  In this article you are going to learn about: 1. What fish farming  aquaculture  is all about. 2. What fish specie performs best in aquaculture 3. Common species of catfish found in Nigeria 4. Why is catfish a good fish to culture. 5. Why you hould Invest in catfish aquaculture now 6. The health benefit of catfish 7.  The processes involved in setting up a fish farm 8. How to write a business plan
Read more

Common fish diseases and their cure: how to detect fish diseases before it hits you hard.

-
Image
antibiotics and antibacterial drugs are important in a fish farm On our journey to achieving success in our fish farm, we find that sometimes farmers record huge loses as a result of disease outbreak in fish farms. Fish farming, like all other animal husbandry face challenges caused by various diseases causing parasites and bacteria. While it is hard to remedy such outbreak, the best practice in aquaculture is to prevent diseases before they occur. In other words, prevention is better than cure. Many factors can affect the health of a fish and these factors varies, One thing that all fish farmers alike must all know and come to understand, is that fishes in the water never live apart from bacteria and parasites, infact they all live together in the same environment. Some bacteria in aquaculture are labeled opportunistic; and this is because under normal circumstances, these bacterial live in the same environment as the fishes and interact with them without any harm to the fish. Tur
Read more

What is Aquaculture

-
Image
Photo credit:  pixabay.com Aquaculture 101 Aquaculture is simply the farming of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants, algae and other aquatic organisms. Aquaculture includes cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. It is less commonly spelled aquiculture and is also known as aqua farming. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), aquaculture “is understood to mean the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming also implies some form of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated’’. It is reported that in 2014 the global aquaculture industry supplied over one half of the fish and shellfish that was/is still directly c
Read more