Can aquaculture transform fish farming in East Africa?

DW (English)

Cage fish farming in an existing water body can be more sustainable than land-based fish farms. And it has economic benefits too. Could aquaculture transform fish farming in East Africa?

Transcript

00:00 Today's catch has just arrived.

00:06 Louise Mkabe works as an agent with Joulet Fish Farms on Lake Victoria, Africa's largest

00:11 freshwater lake.

00:13 A mother of three, she's glad to work for a company that believes in empowering women.

00:22 "A privilege that I have in Joulet is the fact that we can sit, talk and share a meal

00:29 with my bosses.

00:30 In other companies you're not allowed to voice your opinion."

00:35 The early hours of the morning are the best time to collect the fish.

00:38 Ino Oswere and his family founded Joulet Fish Farms over a decade ago.

00:45 Today it's specialised in cage fish farming and selective breeding.

00:50 "We've grown as a major hatchery, a leading hatchery in Kenya, producing 1.2 million

00:57 fingerlings per month.

00:59 When we started we were doing 150,000 fingerlings a year."

01:06 Joulet Fish Farms grows primarily Nile tilapia, which is highly sustainable and in growing

01:12 demand.

01:14 Crucially it has a high tolerance to changes in water quality, which are governed by environmental

01:20 factors.

01:26 Information on water quality and other parameters such as fish stocks is provided by the Kenya

01:31 Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, which has an office on Lake Victoria.

01:37 "We look at the environment and the organisms that live in it.

01:42 And we monitor the environment, the water parameters, how they change over time and

01:48 in space.

01:49 And also we look at how that affects the fish and the people that depend on the lake for

01:55 survival."

01:56 Over the years the lake's fish stocks have been badly depleted by overfishing and illegal

02:03 operations, dropping by 25% in the last decade.

02:09 Aquaculture reduces the impact on the lake's biodiversity and also improves food security.

02:16 "We cannot significantly increase production from the wild systems.

02:22 Wild systems I mean natural production.

02:24 But apart from the extracting risks, the water quality is deteriorating over time, mainly

02:31 driven by the climate change, makes the water unfavourable for some species."

02:37 In comparison, cage farming allows for better control of the production environment.

02:43 The institute identifies suitable species for aquaculture and also offers training to

02:48 businesses focused on sustainable fish breeding.

02:53 "You need to have people who understand the stocking densities, like how many fish

02:59 you can have in a certain area, how to feed them, what type of food they need to grow.

03:05 And also how do you manage diseases because with crowding it's a recipe for spread of

03:12 disease."

03:13 Inaswere has a masters in aquaculture and recognised its potential early on, inspired

03:20 by examples in Asia.

03:21 "I remember I was looking at the history of cage farming in Thailand.

03:27 When there was a lot of capture fishery in Thailand, fish farming was not quite given

03:34 attention.

03:35 When the wild stocks started going down, fish farming became quite significant.

03:42 Likewise that's what is going to happen, or what's already happening in Kenya, in East

03:46 Africa in Lake Victoria."

03:48 He now shares his expertise in an aquaculture academy, a training programme for aquapreneurs

03:55 in East Africa.

03:57 His company aims to have at least 60% female employees.

04:02 The sector can drive social change in local communities, he believes.

04:06 "We have women that have changed their lives directly because a good number of our workforce

04:16 are women.

04:17 They get enough money for themselves and for their families, taking children to school.

04:22 Some also have established other businesses besides just working for jewelers."

04:30 As an agent for the company, Louise Mkabe is supplied with ice to keep the produce fresh.

04:36 In the past she got around with motorcycle taxis, but now she can use the company truck.

04:43 She regularly delivers to 15 to 20 female market vendors.

04:47 They too are earning well, thanks to Julit's payment system.

04:51 "In other companies you pay cash on delivery.

04:56 That's why they come to Julit, because you get fish on credit."

05:03 A sustainable business model, a sustainable industry.

05:07 Aquaculture is helping ensure that Lake Victoria can still provide millions of East Africans

05:13 with a livelihood.

05:14 (audience applauding)

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