By Tawonga Moyo

Mzuzu, April 29, Mana: Fish is one relish that is greatly consumed in the country and demand for product doesn’t seem to decline at any time of the year.

The never-ending demand, however, puts pressure on the country’s lakes, as noted by Centre Manager for Mzuzu Aquaculture Centre, David Mbamba which is located in Mzuzu’s Chimaliro area.

The Centre focuses on conducting research in areas of fish breeding, fish grow-out which involves growing fingerlings to larger sizes for consumption, and feed development which focuses on finding the best feed which farmers can be using to feed their fish for quality produce.

Mbamba said investing in aquaculture development and providing knowledge to people on its benefits was one way of easing the pressure on Malawi's lakes.

“It is impossible for our lakes to cater for the growing population and aquaculture acts as a supplement for providing fish to people,” he explained.

The Manager noted that the Centre has Green Houses which enables fish breeding throughout the year and prevents fish from dying due to low temperatures.

Mbamba urged Malawians to develop an interest in aquaculture development, observing that the country has a lot of idle land which could be utilized for fish farming.

“People should know that there is profit in aquaculture. We want Malawians to be exporting fish as our country has good water and land resource which is what is needed for aquaculture to thrive,” he said.

A fisherman, Ambros Madope who hails from the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Mwase in Likoma and plies his trade along the shores of Likoma Island agrees with Mbamba.

He noted that if fishermen get introduced to aquaculture, it would contribute to the growth of the trade as they currently ply their trade only when the lakes are open for fishing.

“As fishermen, we comply with the directive not to fish during breeding season. When it comes to fish farming in ponds, most fishermen here in Likoma have no idea what it entails.

We only hear about it but no one has ever given us the details of the processes involved. It’s important that we get to learn about it too as it seems to be a good method,” Madope pointed out.

Mzuzu Aquaculture Centre provides people with hands-on training on fish farming, including fish feed formulation and currently has 40 students enrolled at the institution.

One of the students at the Centre, Timale Mhango said she developed an interest in aquaculture with an aim of extending the knowledge to her fellow youth so that they could find something to do and be self-reliant.

“I am gaining knowledge on how to breed fish which I will eventually sell to make profit. At this centre, I am learning that I can breed a lot of fish in a short period of time and make so much profit.

“Besides that, I would like to extend the knowledge to my fellow youth so that we do not only rely on office work for our survival,” she added.

Another student, Rosalio Mang’anda praised government for establishing the Centre saying it provides hands-on experience for youth to learn about aquaculture.

“Aquaculture is not a common practice, although fish is among the relishes which most Malawians eat on a day to day basis. With the expertise I am gaining here, I plan to build my own fish pond and provide fresh fish to communities,” he remarked.

Mang’anda called upon the youth to be open in exploring aquaculture, saying there was great benefit in it.

Mzuzu Aquaculture Centre, which has 28 fish ponds with a total area of production of about 7.1 hectares boosts of its ability to produce enough fingerlings to supply to both northern and central regions.

The Centre was opened in 1987 by a European Union (EU) funded project which was then known as Central and Northern Region Fish-farming.

In 1995, government took over the project and the area of production which was then at 1.6 hectares was expanded to 7.1 hectares.