THE POTENTIALS OF AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT IN FISHING COMMUNITIES
ABSTRACT
Aquaculture continues to grow rapidly every day, and then became bigger and bigger industry every year. So understanding the basic part behind aquatic production facilities is of increasing importance for all those working in this industry. Aquaculture requires knowledge and skills of the many general aspects of production such as spawning, production of feeds etc (Anderson, 2004). Fisheries constitute an important sector in Nigerian agriculture, providing valuable food and employment to millions and also serving as a source of livelihoods mainly for women in coastal communities, in view of the ever-increasing importance of fish as a source of high quality animal protein in Nigeria (Nwuba et al., 2009). Coastal fisheries are important and contributed at least 40 percent of fish production from all sources in Nigeria between 1995 and 2008 (FAO, 2010). According to the Fisheries Society of Nigeria, small scale fisheries provide more than 82 percent of the domestic fish supply, giving livelihoods to one million fishermen and up to 5.8 million fisher folks in the secondary sector comprising processing, preservation, marketing and distribution. Considering Nigeria‘s enormous water resources, human capital and other natural endowments, the Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF) estimated fish production of over 1.7mmt comprising 201,300mt from inshore (brackish and coastal fisheries), 33,900mt (offshore fisheries), 288,200 (inland fisheries) and 1180215mt (aquaculture).