Aquaculture

In contrast to any other agricultural sector, aquaculture is hobbled by a maze of conflicting national and provincial restrictions and barriers.

Two themes emerged at the recent national aquaculture conference: the maze of regulations throttling SA aquaculture development, and the relative absence of large-scale commercial fish farms.

Before embarking on a project, have a practical and sensible understanding of the funds and skills available to you. Do your research before identifying partners, mentors and an appropriate system.

In this second instalment of our series on launching an aquaculture business, we look at what steps to follow once a beginner has secured a basic knowledge of fish biology and system design.

In this new series, Nicholas James will provide prospective tilapia farmers with a step-by-step guide on how to launch and run a successful aquaculture business in South Africa. We begin with the basics.

While government proclaims its commitment to a sustainable aquaculture industry, it simultaneously chokes the growth of the industry through a lengthy and complex legislation process.

Certain questions come up repeatedly from people eager to become involved in warm-water aquaculture in Southern Africa. This seems the right platform to raise and answer a few of these.

The high altitude in parts of Southern Africa can play havoc with temperature control on the sub-continent’s tilapia farms. There are, however, measures that can be implemented to counter this.

Currently, relying on Eskom electricity for either business or pleasure, is a dangerous path to tread. Fish-rearing systems are no exception.

In South Africa, open ponds for aquaculture are impractical due to our cool winters. And with the country’s electricity crisis, one can ill afford to adopt an indoor system that does not yield good results.

Aquaculture is a demanding career that requires perseverance and an abiding interest in fish. Unless you have the ‘fish bug’, rather consider running a fish-and-chip shop.

You don’t need an expensive system to produce top-quality ornamentals that can compete with fish from the Far East and elsewhere.