Aquaculture trade and investment forum was held at Siyonat Hotel, Addis Ababa the past week, Capital reported.

The five days event opned on January 28, was organized by Agri Business Support Facility (ABSF), a part of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations nad with support from the Netherlands’ Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“We aim to initiate model fish farms,” said Rachel Tocklu, managing director of Teampro, the consulting company that organized the mission.

“Ethiopians learn more by example than from experimentation. We want to show fish farmers there is a better way to conduct business with higher profits while still preserving the assets of the country,” she said.

Aquaculture in Ethiopia is still at its early stages. The current production of capture fisheries is estimated at 16,000 metric tons. The main fish species are Tilapia, Catfish and Perch, according to Capital.

Ethiopia’s potential for fishery development is in its 20 freshwater lakes, 12 river basins and 15 reservoirs. There are 180 different species of fish in Ethiopia and 30 of those are native to the country, according to Wagenigen University.

Source: Capital