Status of fish farming in Rivers State, Nigeria

The study surveyed the status of fish farming in Rivers State of Nigeria. Structured interview schedule questionnaires were used in sourcing information from 90 fish farmers randomly selected from nine local government area, with three local government each drawn from each agricultural zone of the state. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that majority (34.4%) of the fish farmers were male and between the age range of 41-50 years. 31.1% of fish farmers cultured their fish in concrete fish tanks. The total mean annual production of fishes were 41,000 metric tons, 38.9% of fish farmers practiced integrated fish farming, 72.2% of the farmers practice only fish production; 58.9% of farmers sourced their information from friends/fellow farmers. In terms of water supply, 40.0% of farmers sourced their water supply from borehole, 36.6% use tilapia species as their fingerlings, 38.9% of farmers sourced their fingerlings from government hatchery 15.2% of farmers indicated that they suffer loss of tilapia, 54.4% farmers use partial harvest, 92.6% of farmers indicated irregular electricity supply as a major constraints to fish production. In order to facilitate the efficient operation of fish farming in the study area, technical advice on pond construction and preparation, species selection and supply for stocking purposes and collection of relevant data on aquaculture will help in the improvement of fish farming in the study area.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ibemere, I.F., Ezeano, C.I.
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	FISON 2013
Subjects:	Aquaculture, Nigeria, Rivers state, Fish, Rivers State, freshwater environment, automation,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/39013
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!