National president of Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN), Tayo Akingbolagun, opined that the policy, which will soon be ready, is expected to show the growth path for the industry. It is fact that the Nigerian aquaculture industry, driven mainly by catfish farming, is seen as the fastest growing sub-sector in the Nigerian fish industry. And more and more young players are going into the business each day still the national demand for fish remained unfulfilled.
According to the CAFAN president Nigeria has a population of about 120 million. The national requirement is about two million metric tons per annum, but we are currently producing about 500,000 metric tons per annum derived from aquaculture and catfish farming, artisenal and industrial fishing. He mentioned that there is a lot of potential in aquaculture because the industrial and artisenal catches are declining. So, the new direction is toward aquaculture and this is a global trend.
The local news agency pointed out that the only way of preserving fish in Nigeria remains smoking. Experts said that there is tremendous opportunity in processing. But as of today, the only processing we do here is fish smoking. Virtually every tribe in the country eats smoked fish. So market for smoked fish is available locally.
