Why some fish farmers lose their investments

What are the factors that are responsible for the collapse of fish farms in Nigeria?The factors that are responsible for these kinds of challenges are numerous. I want to mention few here. One, is management, in the sense of, who you have in the farm? That is the human resource to manage it for you. […]

What are the factors that are responsible for the collapse of fish farms in Nigeria?
The factors that are responsible for these kinds of challenges are numerous. I want to mention few here. One, is management, in the sense of, who you have in the farm? That is the human resource to manage it for you. Are you managing it yourself or you hire somebody to manage it for you?
Two, cost of feeding. If they spend so much on feed and at the end of the day they do not recover their money, they will back out of the business. But the issue of backing out of this business in the sense that you lost a lot of money maybe because the fish did not grow or is stunted is mostly because of the water quality and feeding regime.
In terms of water quality you must prepare the water for the fish to be comfortable just like they are in the river. For instance, in the river you will find out that water from all places comes to the river but still fish are surviving it. You tend to be surprised on why it is like that? It is because fish in the river search for where water is not polluted and has enough oxygen for them to survive.
In the ponds you have to make it more conducive for them because you have put them in one place, they cannot move to any other place to escape any kind of disease or pollution that is coming to them. You must make it conducive; the water must be quality water. If you are going into commercial production, you should take the water for laboratory test. I advise them more on how to grow from small scale to large scale.
What is responsible for stunted growth in fish which makes farmers generate less than they invested?
Some of the things that are causing stunted growth are feeding, water management and overstocking. There is problem of overstocking in certain ponds without re-circulating water system. If it is re-circulating, it would be conducive for the fish to do very well. Standard re-circulating fish farms perform maximally even if you stock a lot of fish. It is just like putting 10 people in one room that has air-conditioner and ten people in one room where there is no air-conditioner. That is how it works in re-circulatory system. These are some of the things that are common in fish farming.
What do you think should be done in the area of getting people to manage your farm well?
Part of the things to be done is to make sure that you give whoever is going to take over your farm the required things they want. One, I talk about human resources, if I know that you are going to make so and so mount and you are giving me chicken change to survive – you are not taking care of me; I won’t take care of your fish. If you look at that person as yourself, definitely that person will be concerned about your fish; that is for the human aspect.
I see farms that produce 2kg, 3kg fish in four to five months. I have seen farms like that and they are doing very well. They don’t complain about all these things. We have established farms that have re-circulatory system that are producing a good number fish today.
Some farmers don’t monitor what the attendant is doing on the farm until when they think it is due for harvest. Do you think this is also a problem?
As a farmer who wants to go into fish farming, depending on the size, one is expected to monitor the farm very well and regularly. Where one cannot, he has to get a good consultant who would be able to manage the place more effectively for him. That will produce good results.