Eight hundred fifty-six rural populations living in inland areas of the Vanimo-Green District of West Sepik Province will have better access to nutrient-rich fish protein for an improved diet, with the support provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the EU-funded STREIT PNG Programme.
FAO recently provided 12,900 quality Tilapia fingerlings to 107 households with 856 direct beneficiaries from Yako, Pewi Conner, Hogru and Biaka Villages in the District.
The fish farmers own 200 plus fish ponds and six fish nurseries. All have been capacitated by FAO under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme in proper techniques and skills of aquaculture production, including the biology and lifecycle of Tilapia, fingerlings stocking, fish feed formulation and production using locally available ingredients, fish ponds construction, design and management, book-keeping and handling or harvesting of mature fish.
FAO Fresh Water Aquaculture Officer, Lapia Renagi, who supervised and support said Talapia is famous among the locals.
“The tilapia fish is everyone’s favourite according to its taste, which is mild flaky, with a firm texture of meat. It is a top consumer choice with a steady growth gradient, which means, Tilapia fish farming is an emerging potential income stream for fish farmers as wild stock populations are dramatically declining,” Renagi expressed.
“Depending on the number and the size of fish ponds, supported households in this round of input provision received between 50 to 150 fingerlings,” Renagi added.
“FAO will continue the support to West Sepik Province with additional 20,000 fingerlings,” he assured.
A fisheries value chain study commissioned by the FAO under EU-STREIT PNG to the PNG National Fisheries Authority (NFA) identified some challenges faced by key factors, and this intervention is part of the fisheries value chains upgrading plan (aquaculture, riverine and coastal) in the Sepik region.
