A $53 million reservoir restocking project has been launched in northern Ghana by the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye.

The project’s first phase will see 100 reservoirs, covering a water surface area of 2,860 hectares, being restocked with 100 million fingerlings of various species, including tilapia, catfish and African bonytongue (Heterotis niloticus). 

Restocking reservoirs is one of the aquaculture interventions being deployed in an effort to reverse the decline in coastal fish production, which has dropped by a total of 17% between 2000 and 2013, according to research led by Dr Seth Agyakwa of the Water Resources Commission. Ghana currently produces 400,000 tonnes and imports 600,000 of seafood annually.

Under the National Aquaculture Development Plan, Ghana’s fish farming output was expected to hit 100,000 tonnes by the end of 2016, but only half that figure was managed. Although there are only a handful of cage farmers, they contribute over 70% of output. The large number of pond farmers contribute 20%, but have the potential to raise production significantly. Low quality feed is a major problem, as most use self-compounded feed instead of extruded commercial products. In an effort to deal with this problem, the Aquaculture Research and Development Commission, a unit of the Water Resources Commission, is gearing up to start producing commercial fish feed based on locally available raw materials.

Source: The Fish Site // Original Article