Aquaculture in Africa, upcoming industry for major employment opportunities
Aquaculture in Africa has all the characteristics needed to turn itself into a force to be reckoned with.
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants.
Similar to agriculture (besides the obvious differences), aquaculture focuses on cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under measured conditions, and can be compared to commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish.
In greater detail, the farming aspect in aquaculture implies some kind of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. It also suggests individual or corporate ownership of the stock that is being cultivated.
Particular kinds of aquaculture include fish farming, shrimp farming, oyster farming, seaweed farming, and the cultivation of ornamental fish.
Only by moving aquaculture offshore will this enormous demand for fish be met for helping feed West Africans in the future. Near-shore production has limited capacity for growth due to competition for space and uncertain water quality. Offshore shellfish farms have shown higher growth rates, better meat yields, and heavier production compared with inshore farms. This is attributed to the lower stress, reduced turbidity and better water exchange experienced at the offshore farms.
After years of experimental trials, South Africa now follows the global trend of importing the much hardier Pacific oyster because there was insufficient knowledge on culturing indigenous species. The introduced Pacific oyster is now widely farmed and has become naturalized in estuaries along the south western coast. About 2 million Pacific oysters were annually produced in South Africa throughout the 1970s and early 80s increasing to about 8 million in 1991. The market for cultivated oysters in South Africa has grown steadily during the past decade but production has not kept up with demand.
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