Title: A Review of Aquaculture Production in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects
Abstract: Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world, with a population an estimated population of about 150 million people. Its citizens as at the end of 2012 have a projected fish demand of 2.66 million tonnes of fish. Fish supply within the said period was 1 32 million tones. This figure was made up of 0.7 million tonnes from importation and 0.62 million tonnes from both artisanal and aquaculture. Of the local production aquaculture contributes only 200,000 tonnes. Studies have shown that fish catch from the wild has reached its maximum production limit and production from this area is currently on the decline. The country has about 1.75 hectares of suitable sites for aquaculture development. Aquaculture production for 2012 was a meager 200,000 tonnes. Aquaculture though a veritable means is faced with a lot of constraints ranging from Government’s wrong focus on industrial fisheries instead of aquaculture, poor policy formulation and nonimplementation fisheries development programmes among others. In spite of these constraints, the following aquacultural investment opportunities such as Production of fishing equipment, Establishment of modern fish farms, Shrimp fishing, fingerling production, Table size fish production, Brood stock production, Fish feed production, Ornamental fish farming, Production system design and construction,. Capacity building in project management, Packaging and branding. Aquaculture can be defined as the rational rearing of fish in an enclosed and fairly shallow body of water where all its life processes can be controlled. It is an important sector for the nation’s economic development, at a time when government is seeking for ways to diversify the economy, from being purely oil based. It is a potential means of contributing to the food security of the nation, directly by producing fish for food and indirectly by generating employment for the teaming unemployed populace, save foreign exchange and generate foreign exchange through export of fish and fish products. Aquaculture according to Ayinla (2012) is the fastest growing food producing industry in the world. He stated that global aquaculture production has quadrupled over the past twenty years and that aquaculture production is likely to double in the
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: review
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Cited By Count: 3
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