Online Reporter
Judith Phiri,Zimpapers Business Hub
THE country has been challenged to capitalise on its 10 000 dams to ensure it meets its national fingerlings demand and fish production targets as well as increase ease of accessibility of quality fingerlings in every province.
Based on a national fish demand of 60 000 metric tonnes annually, the country has a significant unmet need for fingerlings. The current domestic fish production is only around 31 000 metric tonnes, creating a deficit of nearly 30 000 metric tonnes that needs to be addressed through increased aquaculture and fisheries.
Zimbabwe’s aquaculture sector is a growing industry with an ambitious goal of becoming a US$1 billion sector by 2026.
Officially launching the Hatchery Management Guidelines in Bulawayo, Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development Deputy Minister Davis Marapira called for heightened efforts to meet the national fingerlings demand.
“Zimbabwe is looking at a US$1 billion economy out of fisheries, but we do not have fingerlings. If one female fish can lay 10 000 eggs and if we have very good brooder units for fish, that means we have 4 000 surviving females.
“For us to reach US$1 billion economy, we only need 200 000 females.
So that is the focus and the vision of this launch production of hatcheries which are going to be allocated to provinces. We only have six breeding places but we need to decentralize them to districts,” he said.
He said the Government together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) FAO, initiated the process of coming up with voluntary hatchery guidelines to direct the production of quality fingerlings at all hatcheries.
The Deputy Minister said this saw the drafting and finalisation of the Voluntary Hatchery Guidelines by various stakeholders from across the aquaculture sub-sector together with government.
“To address the challenge of availability and accessibility of quality fingerlings, government launched the Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) right here at the site of the Matopos Fisheries Unit sometime last year.
“Under this programme, the Government of Zimbabwe, in collaboration with FAO, agreed to work together to boost fingerling production by establishing five decentralized fish breeding sites across the country,” he added.
“I am pleased to report that three out of five targeted breeding sites have been established at Henderson Fisheries Unit in Mashonaland Central; solarised with one borehole and aquaroom, and stocked with 1 735 Nile Tilapia breeding stock.”
He said in Makoholi Fisheries Unit in Masvingo Province; where five fishponds have been constructed, a biosecurity fence installed, and solar borehole equipment procured, with breeding stock expected to be introduced by end of November.
Deputy Minister Marapira said at Matopos Fisheries Unit in Matabeleland South; where five fishponds have been constructed, 525 male and 140 female fish breeders have been stocked.
“To further enhance fingerling production at these breeding sites, Government has also come in to drill boreholes across all sites, ensuring adequate water supply. Three boreholes have been drilled at the Matopos Fisheries Unit, where one of the three boreholes has already been solarised and was fully equipped under the TCP,” he said.
“We are optimistic that by mid-December 2025, we will begin producing fingerlings ensuring that high-quality, certified fingerlings, are produced and distributed across the country, supporting farmers and strengthening our fisheries and aquaculture value chain.”
He said once fully operational, the combined breeding sites will be capable of producing up to 10 million fingerlings per annum before further expansion, a major boost to our national fingerling supply chain.
The Deputy Minister said more still needs to be done to meet the projected demand of 150 million fingerlings in the sector for Zimbabwe to attain a US$1 billion fisheries and aquaculture economy.
I am encouraged by the growing interest and involvement of private hatcheries in complementing government efforts in fingerling production, with most hatcheries here present indicating their willingness to upscale their fingerling production to help meet this deficit,” he said.
“As Government, we understand that to truly meet our national fingerlings demand and fish production targets, we must decentralise breeding operations and increase ease of accessibility of quality fingerlings across the country.
