As the Agriculture Ministry seeks to promote the sustainable development of the nation’s fishery resources, the fisheries department is working with the United Nations to encourage aquaculture farmers to rear Tambaqui, a South American freshwater fish.
Fisheries officer Shirleena Odiff
Agriculture remains one of the most significant economic sectors in Guyana, contributing some 20 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDF).
Now that the State is looking beyond the traditional sectors such as sugar and rice, aquaculture, which is the farming of fish and other marine life, is being cited as one of the fastest growing industries within the sector. To this end, the Agriculture Ministry has collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations on promoting the species.
Fisheries officer Shirleena Odiff, at a recent event that highlighted the work of the sub-agency, said that the fisheries department was working with aquaculture farmers to rear species beyond tilapia, an already popular selection for Guyanese.
“Tilapia is our common aquaculture species so we are trying to promote Tambaqui. Currently, the aquaculture station in Mon Repos is trying to breed Tambaqui so we can sell the fingerlings to farmers. This is one of our ways of promoting aquaculture in Guyana,” Odiff observed.
Tambaqui is principally found in the Amazon Rainforest and the fisheries officer noted that the species was highly sought after in Brazilian communities.
“It is a very meaty fish and it is the second largest, with exception of the Arapaima, within the Amazon region.”
She further highlighted the economic opportunities that this breed of fish offered Guyana, and also noted that the Agriculture Ministry conducted testing on aquaculture farms in addition to guiding farmers on the required specifications.
“There is a large market for the aquaculture species because we know our biggest competitor in terms of tilapia is China, so we are trying to promote Tambaqui in Guyana and seek external markets for it,” the fisheries officer highlighted.
“The aquaculture unit does offer extension services. We do water quality testing on farms and based on the water quality, we would do recommendations and advice; we would also have the technical advisor for digging and constructing ponds,” she further explained.
Fingerlings, also called juvenile fish, are sold to farmers at a subsidised cost. It was only in September that the Agriculture Ministry collaborated with the People’s Republic of China through the Fujian Institute of Oceanography (FJIO) where 30 local participants benefited from a two-week training session in aquaculture technology.
