Aquaculture: Expert advocates for more fishes documentation

The Deputy Provost, Fresh Water Fisheries Technology, Bagu, Bornu state, Dr. Olarenwaju Nurudeen 

The Deputy Provost, Fresh Water Fisheries Technology, Bagu, Bornu state, Dr. Olarenwaju Nurudeen has advocated for biological documentation of more economic fishes from the wild to upscale commercial aquaculture production to meet local consumption and checkmate huge import bill.  

Dr. Olarenwaju Nurudeen said this statement at the National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD) meeting based on the issue raised on a memo relating to licensing, certification and diversification of the sub-sector for more economic and job creation.

He pointed that the major challenge in the sub-sector was scarcity of improved seeds for other economic varieties of fishes apart from the usual catfish that are grown in a cultured environment saying many other species that are sweeter and economically viable could be biologically groomed for aquaculture productivity.

The deputy provost stressed the need to encourage the biological documentation of available fish varieties that are in the wild for cultured replication to boost commercial production towards checkmating huge expenditure on import for local consumption.

He disclosed that effort was already ongoing that would ensure the availability of the seeds before the next council meeting as his college is already  working on about four of them with biological documentation for replication in a cultured environment for reproduction.

Said he ‘’ We have many economic indigenous species that are very valuable and sweeter than catfish that we know today. One of them is Parachanna obscura otherwise known as African snakehead which has little bone with plenty flesh to eat. But it is not in the cultured environment. Why? Gymnarchus niloticus is not also in cultured environment. Why? When you look into this problem, why is it that most of these fishes we see in the wild are not in our aquaculture? One major problem is that their seeds are not available to farmers.

 The reason is that we have not been able to document the biology of these fishes. You have to study the biology of the species to be able to know the reproduction of them in order to be able to mimic them in the hatchery. What effort are we making towards this direction? Yes there is effort going on. We are working on the reproduction of Parachanna obscura and also on Heterotic niloticus. However effort is ongoing to make their seeds available for cultured fish farming. We have finished the biology work. We are the phase of breeding in the laboratory. We are now saying between now and the next coming council meeting, we should be able to say that you can get them from us.’’

Speaking on the security situation on commercial fish activities in Bagu area, he said the military has just lifted ban on fishing activities to only self consumption level, meaning commercial activities in the area is not yet allowed.