Abstract

Aquaculture production contributes less than thirty percent of the fish consumed in Nigeria, thus, increased aquaculture is vital to Nigeria’s fish food supply and security. To investigate the aquaculture sector in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, Nigeria, a structured questionnaire was used to gather primary data from one hundred and seventy (170) fish farms. Results showed that intensive, monoculture of the African catfish in concrete ponds was the most dominant culture system. Majority of the farms were small-scaled with farming taking place within households and was mainly practiced by young, male farmers who had attained tertiary education and farmed either full time or part time. Fish farming contributed to youth employment, income generation, poverty alleviation and food security in the region. Most of the farms obtained their fish seeds from different commercial hatcheries at varying sizes and costs. Although there is great potential and enthusiasm for aquaculture production in Gwagwalada, as in Nigeria, there are several factors militating against the growth of the sector. The constraints revealed in this study include high cost of fish feeds, lack of high-quality seeds, lack of access to credit facilities, technical information, and infrastructure. Government, through provisions of these needs may encourage sustained growth of the sector.

Key words: African catfish, fish farm, fish farming, survey, constraints of fish farming, aquaculture development, Nigeria.