Floods hit fish farmers

Nhlalwenhle Ngwenya
FREEDOM Siziba from Umguza District in Matabeleland North is a happy man confident enough to stand among other professionals because he earns a respectable livelihood out of fish farming.

Now aged 54, he quit his job as a mechanic seven years ago after he realised that fish farming was a lucrative venture.

Two years later, he opened a butchery and doubled up as a meat supplier.

aï¿½?I started the project in 2010 and I spent about $1 500 to put up the ponds but within four months I started making profits and realised that I had been wasting time while working as a mechanic in Bulawayo. Fish farming is lucrative and less tasking and the returns are good within a short while,aï¿½? said Siziba.

But this year he predicts a big loss after his lucrativeaï¿½ï¿½s business was badly affected by rain water which flooded his ponds.

Heaï¿½ï¿½s not the only farmer affected by the current floods as several farmers from other provinces share the same story.

Experts in fish farming blame this on failure by farmers to adapt to climate change since aquaculture entirely thrives on water hence fish farmers can be heavily affected by lack of or too much water.

Considering that an average pond measures 1 000 square metres and houses about 6 000 fish which will be ready to be taken to the market after six months, the loss of such a stock weighing close to 1,5 tonnes valued at $4 500 can be devastating.

Vaurayi Zvarevashe, whoaï¿½ï¿½s part of Aquaculture Zimbabwe, said one farmer in Mutasa, Manicaland lost all his fish to a heavy storm.

aï¿½?We have had few cases here and there, but there is one farmer who lost his entire pond to the floods. Unfortunately he didnaï¿½ï¿½t take note of the storm which caused severe floods but the loss could have been averted, if he had reacted swiftly,aï¿½? said Zvarevashe.

Zvarevashe added that it doesnaï¿½ï¿½t take a flood for a pond to flood and spill, as a result fish farmers have to come up with specially designed ponds that have a water outlet pipe and overflow pipes with screened fences.

aï¿½?The best option is to fit a fish pond with a water outlet and overflow pipes with screened fences. This ensures that when the fishpond floods water can be reduced and in the process no fish leaves the pond,aï¿½? he said.

On the other hand, Bothwell Chikosi of BFS fish consultancy in Harare said that it was all about constructing fish ponds on higher ground which is not prone to flooding.

aï¿½?The ideal place is to construct a fish pond on high land than a lower place. In most cases the Lower lands are prone to flooding when there are heavy rains like what we are currently facing,aï¿½? said Chikosi.

Chikosi also advised fish farmers to desist from targeting easy water sources as they tend to flood easily during the rainy season.

aï¿½?Most fish farmers target easy sources of water, they build fish ponds on swamps and low lying areas. During heavy rains, such ponds wonaï¿½ï¿½t see the light of the day,aï¿½? he said.

Harnessing technology, in a bid to beat the floods they have resorted to forming a WhatsApp group.

aï¿½?As fish farmers we have formed a WhatsApp group. In this group we share weather forecasts and issue out warnings and possible flooding that may take place. As a result some of us monitor the weather closely and send messages on how to react when there are floods,aï¿½? he added.

aï¿½?For example, that farmer in Mutasa, if he had reacted to a WhatsApp group alert message he could have been able to save his pond by draining the water from the pond and ensuring that his fish did not swim out.

Despite being affected here and there, in general we can say that we are managing to stay abreast of the floods,aï¿½? he said.