Aquaculture is the husbandry of aquatic food organisms. The need arose from the decrease in supply from ocean fisheries as a result of over-fishing and pollution. One of the ways to bridge the gap between the reduced fish supply and increased world food fish demand is through aquaculture. Unlike Asia, Africa has little aquaculture tradition and has been affected by a number of external problems that have prevented proper management and development despite investment.
In Nigeria, tilapia culture production is predominantly an extensive land-based (earthen ponds) system practiced at subsistence levels (Fagbenro,2002) while commercial tilapia culture is yet to become popular and widespread (Afolabi et al.,2000). Its current yield is 14,388 tonnes/year (Fagbenro & Adebayo,2005). With an estimated one million hectares of coastal zone, which offer considerable potential for commercial aquaculture, the activity is a developing venture.
Tilapia culture in Nigeria consists of a broad spectrum of systems/practices operating through a continuum ranging from backyard household ponds to small-scale industrial systems. It contributes to food security, poverty alleviation, employment, trade and income generation (Omotosho & Fagbenro,2005a). According to Fagbenro (1998), the establishment of earthen pond systems in Nigeria coastal aquaculture upsets the ecological balance and causes deforestation and destruction of the mangrove vegetation, hence water-based aquaculture systems. Cage culture of tilapias has often been developed and adapted by trial and error in Nigerian freshwater since the 1970’s (Fagbenro,1987) and over time led to a drop in economic performance (Omotosho & Fagbenro,2005b). Despite tilapia culture merits of being an entry point for planning natural resource usage and contribution to environmental enhancements, it faces a lot of risks.
In Nigeria, tilapia culture production is predominantly an extensive land-based (earthen ponds) system practiced at subsistence levels (Fagbenro,2002) while commercial tilapia culture is yet to become popular and widespread (Afolabi et al.,2000). Its current yield is 14,388 tonnes/year (Fagbenro & Adebayo,2005). With an estimated one million hectares of coastal zone, which offer considerable potential for commercial aquaculture, the activity is a developing venture.
Tilapia culture in Nigeria consists of a broad spectrum of systems/practices operating through a continuum ranging from backyard household ponds to small-scale industrial systems. It contributes to food security, poverty alleviation, employment, trade and income generation (Omotosho & Fagbenro,2005a). According to Fagbenro (1998), the establishment of earthen pond systems in Nigeria coastal aquaculture upsets the ecological balance and causes deforestation and destruction of the mangrove vegetation, hence water-based aquaculture systems. Cage culture of tilapias has often been developed and adapted by trial and error in Nigerian freshwater since the 1970’s (Fagbenro,1987) and over time led to a drop in economic performance (Omotosho & Fagbenro,2005b). Despite tilapia culture merits of being an entry point for planning natural resource usage and contribution to environmental enhancements, it faces a lot of risks.