Indigenous fish species a panacea for cage aquaculture in Zambia: A case for Oreochromis macrochir (Boulenger, 1912) at Kambashi out-grower scheme.

Abstract

In Zambia there has been limited attempt to culture indigenous fishes in cages; therefore their suitability for cage culture is not proven. Until then, Nile tilapia remains the fish culture species of choice in cages. Despite its superior comparative growth performance, Nile Tilapia is exotic to the Zambian aquatic system and this poses great environmental concerns. In this trial pioneered at Kambashi Bream Fisheries, an attempt was made to monitor the growth performance of an indigenous fish species (Oreochromis macrochir) commonly known as long fin bream from the Cichlidae family. 4,000 fingerlings were stocked in each of the 3 x 50 m3 cages and fed formulated diet for 240 days between March and October 2013. Fish grew from 3.0 g to 353 g (±0.0104 SE).Analysis of variance on the final weight of trial fish showed no significant differences (P>0.05).The trial proved O. macrochir as a suitability alternative candidate fish for cage culture on Lake Bangweulu.