The Fisheries Commission’s (FC) Bono Regional Director, Mr. Hanson Kodzo Dzamefe Jr., has emphasised the importance of promoting backyard fish farming as a way to increase the nation’s fish supply.
”Taking the per capita consumption of fish annually, averagely every Ghanaian consumes about 24.6 kilogrammes (kg), compared to the world average of 20 kg and West African average of 14 kg, so, even in the sub-region Ghanaians are the highest consumers of fish,” he noted.
”Are we able to produce enough fish for our people to eat”?, he quizzed, saying, there had always been a deficit in the consumption against production.
Mr. Dzamefe Jnr. indicated that the country imported additional tons of fish worth more than US$67 million to augment the 2021 deficit, saying something needed to be done to meet the demand for fish consumption.
”If we get a lot of people to start up this initiative in their homes, an increased amount of national fish production would be guaranteed,” he said.
He urged people to start fish farming because fishponds could be done using concrete tanks and collapsible tanks, made from tarpaulin to raise fish for home consumption.
”What thrives more is the catfish, because they are robust and can be raised everywhere in clean water, except pipe-borne and other waters with chemicals” he added.
Mr. Dzamefe Jnr. added, besides complementing their meals with quality fish protein, it would be an opportunity to create employment for them and also serve as a recreation.’.