Aquaculture

Want cost-effective heating for your aquaculture system? Nothing beats greenhouse tunnels.

This is the 100th aquaculture column to appear in Farmer’s Weekly, and to mark this milestone, I’d like to explore how far the industry has come since my first article in September 2012.

Certain non-negotiable measures are needed to make small, community-run fish farms successful.

Keeping rearing conditions clean and sourcing fingerlings from reputable hatcheries will help contain outbreaks.

The success and viability of the industry is largely government’s responsibility, because only it makes and implements legislation.

The high cost of these systems can be prohibitive for new entrants to the industry. Pond farms may be a far better solution.

The refusal of both state and private investors to take good advice has left a trail of failed aquaculture projects across South Africa.

The design of an aquaculture system is essential to the operation’s success, and should be appropriate to environmental conditions and staffing skills.

Riverine tilapia species are more suitable to South African aquaculture conditions than lacustrine species.

The versatile tilapia is found all over Africa, but not all species are suitable for aquaculture production.

Not all fish species are suitable for aquaculture simply because they grow large in their natural habitat.

Production claims must be based on proven, long-term commercial results – they cannot be extrapolated.