Big harvest for family that took the plunge into cage fishing
The Mbeo family is practising a different kind of fish farming on the shores of Lake Victoria. Whereas most fishermen row their boats deep into the lake in hope of bringing back big stocks, the Mbeos simply go into big cages and catch as much as they want.
Their firm, Lake View Fisheries, is Kenyaโs cage fishing pioneer, winning several entrepreneurial and environmental conservation awards in the three years it has been up and running.
Like most new ventures, Lake View Fisheries started as and idea that would not give its bearer any rest until it was executed. One of the Mbeo siblings, Gilbert, always had a passion for fish farming and shared his ideas with his family. In 2013, the family took a collective risk and invested most of their savings into his passion.
Gilbert had over the years done his research andย learnt a lot about pond farming and cage farming. He realised that in a small area on the lake one could keep a large number fish compared to a pond.
โWhen we decided to go with this style of farming we knew we hadย to reach out forย expertise because such cages have not been seen in Kenya, says Gilbert.
And so they consulted experts fromย Africaโs biggest cage farmsย toย understand best practices on cage management before setting up on Ramba Beach in Mfangano Island.
The farm is characterised by floating circular high-density polyethylene (HDPE)ย cages, a technology mostly applied in mariculture.
It has two circular HDPE cages with a capacity of 25 tonnes. Each is made of high density pipesย surrounded by green nets with a 20 metre diameter and depth of six metres.
The cages use a series ofย upย to four nets: the actual net that holds the fish, predatorย net,ย feed containment net measure to contain the feed so that it doesnโt spill out and finally the bag net that covers the cage to keep away predators such birds.
The company runs a tilapia hatchery, 31 ponds, two demonstration square cages and circular HDPE cages.
Before the fish are released into the cagesย in the lake, eggs are hatched inย and incubation room using re-circulation aquaculture system.
The cages hold a brooding stock of 2,000 tilapia fish while the companyย currently producesย overย 100,000 sex reversedย fingerlings in a month.ย Each fingerling costsย between Sh5 to Sh10 depending on the size.
โWe went through several months of developing ourย brood stock,ย which involves cycles of breeding and selecting the most favourable geneticsย and traits fit for cage farming,โย says Gilbertโs sister, Michelle Mbeo, a Lake View Fisheries co-director.
Some of the daily activitiesย includeย scuba diving to inspect different cage parts, feeding andย monitoring fish health.
โWe are building a team byย up skillingย local talent to ensure that thisย skill setย is available in Kenya. Currently we have two employeesย being trained in Mombasa. Our target is toย train 20 staff members,โ says Gilbert.
The company has employedย 31 permanent staffย working in hatchery, the cageย management, sales for fingerlings and outgrown fish.
The core revenue stream for the company is sale of high quality tilapia fingerlings and the outgrown fish.
โWe stocked both circularย cages with 100,000ย mono sex tilapia fingerlings inย April and expect to harvest in September when they mature atย 400 grammes,โ says Michelle.
The first harvest for the two squareย cages done in February was 10,000 tilapiaย worth Sh3 million.
They plan to increase the cages to 52 withย a target to scale up production to 10,000 tonnes of fish in the next five years.
Table size fish isย the secondย revenue stream for the company. Most of the sales are Sh300 per kilogramme (kg). Fish leaving the farm for the market after light processing goes for Sh600 per kg.
โWe sell them locally,ย to hotels, restaurantsย inย Mbita, Kisumu, Kakamega and Nairobi,โ says Gilbert.
ย The cage fish farming method has been hailed as one that is environmentally sustainable and the company has a programme where it trains local farmers.
โWe are working closely with 30 farmers training them on economic and sustainable fish farming.ย We provide them with quality fingerlings, expertise and feeds,โ says Michelle.
โThereโs a lot of wild fishing which has depleted the stock of fish. But through cage fishing, people will be able to get farm fish in sustainable way,โ adds Gilbert.
The company spends Sh500, 000 on feed per month, both for the hatchery and cages. Approximately 250 and 400 of 20kg bags are used in hatchery and cages respectively.
Like any enterprise, Lake View Fisheries also has challenges. The lack of financial support and heavy taxation on feeds and HDPE cagesย are among its top challenges.
The county government of Homa Bay is set to partner with the investor to boost fish farming in the county. Last month Governor Cyprian Awiti visited the farm and promised Sh50 million to help replicate the project in other parts of the county.
The company has won awards recognising the positive environment and energy footprint in November 2014 and recently ranked 3rdย in Small and Medium size Enterprise (SME) categoryย during Green Innovation Awards organized by National Environment Trust Fund.
SOURCE: Business Daily Africa
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