A senior Ghanaian fisheries official visiting China on a training program this month said waning counts in wild fish stocks are pushing his country and others in the African continent to look to increase their aquaculture output.
Speaking at the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Fisheries, Fred Stephen Sarfo, the head of aquaculture the Ghana Ministry of Fisheries, said he hoped to improve his country’s aquaculture output with training and financial assistance from China, which has drastically increased its investments and presence throughout the continent in recent years.
Sarfo said that “waning natural fishery resources” means Africa has become eager to boost aquaculture output but needs help developing aquaculture technology and seeks to learn from China's successful experiences in the sector.
A monthlong training program in aquaculture, sponsored by the China Commerce Ministry, has drawn participants from across Africa to learn how China breeds species like carp, tilapia and vannemei shrimp.
Seedling and feed are the keys to successful aquaculture, the academy’s deputy director, Liu Hongmei, told the trainees.
Fisheries officials from African countries including Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Egypt attended the all-expenses-paid program in Wuxi, the southern Chinese city where the Academy of Fisheries freshwater research and training facilities are based. Representatives from another dozen non-African countries were also present, among them Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Samoa and Mongolia.
