August 30, 2007

Rwanda starts tilapia cage studies

Rwanda is embarking on a pilot fish cage study involving 10,000 young tilapia, the largest conducted in the nation so far.

The tilapia, imported from Uganda, each weighs 30 grammes and are expected to grow to 500gms within a six-month period.

The managing director of Genesis Ltd, Gil Nossan, an agricultural and livestock specialist told East African Business Week that the fish cage study is pioneered by a private developer and would be undertaken in Lake Muhazi in the eastern province.

Local efforts in ponds so far have had low harvest yields and problems with aeration, he said.

The company is importing 10 tonnes of fish feed for the study.

The fish, to be held in aluminium cages with two-thirds submerged and a third above the water, would be inserted at certain spots in the lake to ensure proper aeration and water flow.