Eastern Cape aquaculture project achieves first successful harvest

An aquaculture project in Hamburg in the Eastern Cape, established by the department of agriculture, has harvested and sold its first crop of 260 dusky kob fish, commonly known as kabeljou.

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This is an important achievement as kob farming is a fairly new to SA. The harvest was sold to Cape Town Fish Market’s V&A Waterfront branch, Southern Cross Seafood Deli and Wild Peacock Food Emporium in Stellenbosch.

The Hamburg kob pilot project, which employs 21 people from the community, is one of 24 aquaculture projects that form part of Operation Phakisa. The goal of the project is to empower coastal communities through the transfer of technology, skills development and job creation.

The initiative involves a partnership between government and Oceanwise, a leader in the farming of dusky kob in South Africa based in East London.

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Oceanwise made a significant contribution in terms of providing technical knowledge of kabeljou aquaculture, harvesting, processing and marketing.

The 2ha farm, located approximately 60km from East London, has the capacity to produce 20t of dusky kob per annum.