0 - WorldFish Center

Existing Aquaculture Operations
Few commercial fish farms exist and are
operational in Ghana. Nearly all were es-
tablished after 1980 and few are produc-
ing fish economically. Tilapia (Oreochromis
ni/oticus) and African catfish (C/arias
gariepinus) are the most common species
grown.
Fish farms are generally owned by in-
dividuals, and not companies, most of which
are located in the Ashanti, Greater Accra,
Eastern, Central and Volta Regions. Some
owners are entrepreneurs operating other
commercial enterprises who have invested
profits made from such activities into fish
culture. For them the primary purpose of
fishponds is, in many cases, a matter of
status. Often, customs and social hierarchy
require that fish are given to family and
community members as gifts. The size of
the fish can be of importance.
Ponds were mechanically dug at high
cost but without drainage facilities, proper
water supplies and dike construction. In
most cases, ponds are not adequately man-
aged and production is much lower than
potentially achievable.
Most ponds are fished less than once a
year, are not drainable and therefore re-
quire borrowing or purchase of a net. Further,
they are not dried, restocked and very few
nutrient inputs such as fertilizer, manure
or feedstuffs are provided (Fig. 1).
Reasons for low production are: ( 1 ) wrong
or inadequate siting, design, construction
and maintenance of ponds; (2) missing or
inadequate Iznowledge of the essentials
of fish husbandry (reproduction. pond
fertilization, pond biology, fish reproduc-
tion and feeding); and (3) wrong perception
of possible production levels and associated
investment costs and returns.
An often expressed need for large bank
loans for initial investments is commonly linlzed
with an unwillingness to seek or follow expert
technical advice. Most operations have been
abandoned.
The extension service of the Fisheries
Department usually concentrates on this group
of fish farmers in their efforts.
Smal/holdersubsistence aquacul ture hardly
exists in Ghana. Existing cases are usually
undrainable ponds in waterlogged areas,
receiving few nutrient inputs, thus leading
to low fish production. There is practically
no awareness of necessary and appropriate
aquaculture technology, and of options for
integration and increased utilization of on-
farm residues such as manure and plant wastes.
People embark on pond construction and
operation without prior knowhow, leading
to numerous failures. In all cases, the ponds
do not produce enough to support the families
by fish production alone. Ponds are often
haphazardly maintained or even abandoned,
and fish stoclzs in them can be several years
old since nets for their harvest are not available
and neither is external support. Most examples
of this type of aquaculture are located in
the Western, Ashanti, Central, Eastern and
Volta Regions.
Reservoir-fed ponds in irrigation schemes
are a more recent development but can
generally be considered a failure. In Ghana,
a law exists in which five per cent of the
area of developed land below the reservoirs
of irrigation schemes should be in the form
of fishponds. In a few cases, these were
implemented, always in the form of a cluster
of ponds at sites directly below the dams.
The quality of ponds built by the construction
companies ranges from poor in acidic and
saline soil (such as in the Dawhenya irrigation
area) togood with well-built monks and water
supply channels and drains (such as in the
Tono and Vea irrigation schemes: see Fig. 4
in Prein and Ofori, this vol.). Often these
were not maintained adequately, thus re-
quired expensive rehabilitation after only a
few years.
The incentive behind these operations
was to lease the ponds to individuals who.
on top of the pond lease, would have to
pay for water supply, fingerlings, feeds and
fertilizer inputs, and other operational