Become a millionaire from catfish fingerlings

Poor teaching remuneration propelled me to start my farm, now I’m a successful entrepreneur —Ayobami Omidiran, Executive Director, Aquatech Fisheries Institute, Ibadan

BEING a friend to a son of the owner of one of the foremost fishery farms in the early 80s, Onibonoje Farms, along Esa Oke, Osun State, gave the Executive Director of Aquatech Institute of Fisheries, Fodacis Area, Ring Road, Ibadan, Dr Ayobami Omidiran, a stint in fishery and propelled his interest in the business.

This informed his studies in Fisheries and Aquatic Biology in his first degree at the Lagos State University; Fishery Management in his Masters Degree at the University of Ibadan and a PhD (in view) in the same field, at the same institution.

Poor remuneration, according to him, showed him the way out of part time teaching at the Lagos State University into establishing his own farm, Aquatech Fishery Farm and a fishery institute, Aquatech Fisheries Institute, which is a federal government approved institution.

“I started with about N50,000 in 2001. I bought a pumping machine for N12,000; built a shed for N6,000; I bought fishes, and some equipment, like plastic bowl, towel, knife, among others.

“The business has earned me so much, my living, accommodation, other luxuries of life, some store of value for the future.

Ayobami, who could be described as an expert in the field said: “I have a keen interest in fish business, while my penchant for teaching cannot be over-emphasised. I am practically involved in every aspect of fishery, fish propagation, fingerlings production, sales and training, among other things. I have been able to impact knowledge on so many people in this field, making them self reliant, and contributing to the development of the nation.”
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Become a millionaire from catfish fingerlings

SCIENTISTS and food nutritionists are, on a daily basis, making researches on the advantages of eating fish over meat, especially red meat. The result of their findings, among other factors, has continued to propel increase in fish consumption by man. Hence, there is a need for more hands in fish production exercise.

There is the need to have ways of producing fishes that are endemic to our environment in large number more than what is obtainable in the wild.

Catfish (clarias gariepinus); slap water fish (heterotis niloticus) or tilapia fish (oreochromis niloticus), among other several species in fishery, are easier to propagate while they also have good financial value.

Who can do the business
Basically, whoever wants to do catfish fingerlings production business must have time for it. You need two to three hours per day to monitor the fry for the first three days. After that, you can just look at them in the morning and in the evening. You must also be truly interested in the business because you cannot have time for what you are not interested in.

Start up cost
This depends on the scope and the size that you want to start with. You need good water supply in good quantity to meet the water need of the fish. I will suggest borehole or deep well. You must also endeavour to determine the p h value of the water because water hardness or softness also determines the survival of fishes. P h can be corrected if it is extreme. You need a mini hatchery, which costs about N50,000; a 1hp pumping machine for about N10,000; aerator for about N12,000; a good shed for harsh weather control which costs about N50,000. By and large if you have a well and a land, with about N100,000 you can start up.

However, you can start with as little as N10,000 if you have a platform to work on; like having somebody to spare you his hatchery. Then, you need money to buy fish, feed, fuel for the pumping machine, fee for electricity, among others.

Learning
Training is essential to making headway in catfish fingerlings production because you are handling fragile creatures. You need about two weeks practical training from people who are already successful in the business. But the least training period in a formal school or institute, is between one to three months, which is an intensive training in fishery. The training fee differs, depending on the school or individual training you.

You do not necessarily need formal education to do the business because you can get the training in your local language. If you are literate, you can also learn online, although you will need practical knowledge.

Planning and research
Artificial propagation of catfish is determined by laboratory condition or human intervention. So, you must carefully take care of the hormonal change of the male and female catfish by injection with artificial hormone like ovaprim.

Then, we can also use natural hormone from the pituitary gland, which will trigger the egg release after ovulation and subsequent fertilisation by the sperm from the male.

The hormone is situated under the brain. We get it from some fishes, catfish or carp (cyprinus carpio), among others. This is macerated and drawn into syringe and needle, and it is injected under the skin of the fish. Having injected the fish, it will start ovulation, and within 12 hours, they are ready to shed their eggs.

Then you put the eggs into an incubator, which will either run by flow through system or aeration system. Then you remove the unhatched eggs and the dead ones to avoid water quality problem. You can transfer the live ones into another container, where you put fresh water on them.

There is a yolk sack attached to them at the point of hatching where they take their nutrients from. After two to three days, they will start to search for food frantically, either natural or artificial feed, like artemia feed, from day three for about 10 to 12 days, after which you can change to 0.2mm feed. Within three weeks, you will be expecting your fingerlings.

Cost and potential earning:
You can make about 170 per cent profit from every good and successful hatchery exercise. You buy two females and one male catfish, which is about N1,200 per one. You inject them, give them the starter feed, which is about N4,000 per can.

Fish is a perishable thing; coupled with the fact that researches have recommended its consumption for healthy living, the demand for it is high. This makes the market for fingerlings, which grow to be matured for consumption, very large. Fish farmers are always on the lookout for it.

If you have good exercise, you can produce minimum of 20,000 fingerlings per month. Each fingerling costs between N5.00 to N7.00. With that, you can make over N100,000 in a month.

Reputation and marketing
Endeavour to do everything humanly possible to have a good exercise. This will earn you healthy and good fingerlings. Then, move from one fish farmer to another, telling them about the availability of good fingerlings in your farm. Once they patronise you once and they are sure of the quality of your fingerlings, they will keep on calling on you. And sooner, you will not be able to meet up with your customers’ demands, and millions of naira will start rolling into your account.

Written by  Olaoluwa Mimiola

Source: Tribuneng.com