The State of Ghana’s Aquaculture Production on the Volta Lake at a Glance

Session: Poster session

Isaac Nyameke, Ghana Aquaculture and Fish Network, [email protected]
Ruby Asmah, Ghana Aquaculture and Fish Network, [email protected]

Abstract

This present study was conducted to establish the number of tilapia farms operating on the upstream of the Volta Lake, their GPS locations, farm size, employees experience, annual production, feed used, workers knowledge in nutrient discharge and pollution control. Owners of 129 farms were interviewed using qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. The study revealed that the 129 farms employed 1,379 permanent and 1,200 causal workers.. The 129 farms had 3,392 cages with 59% of the cages in use at the time of the study. The 129 farms produced 18,632.27 metric tons of fish in 2015 and 14,711.82 metric tons in 2014. Fifty-Eight percent fed based on stock density, 28% used body weight while 12% used the age.. All the farmers indicated they use between 70 and 90 bags (25kg per bag) of feed to produce 1 metric ton of fish.  Based on that, the author estimated that about 31,674.74 metric tons of feed were used in 2015 and 25, 010.09 metric tons in 2014 with FCR of 1.7. The findings led to the conclusion that Ghana’s aquaculture development on the Volta Lake needs to be better planned and developed to prevent negative environmental impacts in the future.

1. Keyword
Africa

2. Keyword
conservation

3. Keyword
data acquisition

4. Additional Keyword
Water use conflict

5. Additional Keyword
Community

6. Additional Keyword
Production