MINISTER for Livestock and Fisheries Mashimba Ndaki has urged the general public to consider investing in aquaculture, to increase raw materials for the country’s fish processing industries and to build new factories, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
He made the call during an official visit to the Tanlapia aquaculture facility in Bagamoyo District yesterday. The minister wanted to see their fish farming operations and hear from stakeholders about what the government can do to help aquaculture thrive.
“At the moment, we have small scale industries, and some of them are producing below standards, owing to a lack of raw materials.
“However, projects like these will assist industry in having sufficient raw materials, particularly in the Indian Ocean,” he said.
Minister Ndaki also stated that the sixth phase government will continue to encourage and set a conducive environment for investors in the country, to fulfill the country’s enormous fish production goals through aquaculture.
He stated that the government’s goal was to encourage large fish producers to invest more productively in the country, ensuring food security and employment.
Mr Ndaki believes that the Tanlapia farm, which is expected to have 48 fish ponds in its initial phase, may be used as a model farm for individuals from all across the country to learn how to do commercial fish farming.
Director of the Aquaculture department in the Ministry Dr Nazael Madala said the Tanlapia farm’s use the In-Pond Raceway System (IPRS) a very sophisticated innovative aquaculture technology that ensures ideal water chemistry by interrupting water flow and managing waste disposal.
“This is an environmentally friendly aquaculture technique that can help to ensure quality and safe fish for human consumption in the face of climate change adaptation and growing worried about land and water resource shortages,” he said
Tanzania, he says, is the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to employ the technology, which many Tanzanians may benefit from to boost fish yield.
“Fish as a major source of food and protein, is in high demand, and the price of fish and fish-related products is fast rising in tandem with population expansion therefore aquaculture is the solution,” he said
According to Dr Madala, the typical individual in the world should consume 20.5 kilogrammes of fish per year, but in Tanzania, the average person consumes only 8.5 kg.
For his part, the Director of Tanlapia Company, Mr Baraka Karangahe said the purpose of the project is to produce for the local market so that anyone may buy fish at a reasonable price.
He said the project will produce about two million hatcheries a year and sell 8,000 to 10,000 metric tons of fish per year.
“We have been working with the local communities to provide fish farming training so that they, too, can enhance output for themselves and the country as a whole.
“We anticipate employing 200 people on the project,” he said.