Oliver Kaleem, Abudou-Fadel Bio Singou Sabi

West African Centre for Sustainable Rural Transformation (WAC-SRT), University of Abdou Moumouni, Niamey, Niger

ABSTRACT

Fish farming is considered an important agricultural activity that is capable of ending nutritional deficiencies of the world and contributing to poverty reduction. Its proponents argue that aquaculture will meet the food security needs of millions of people in developing countries who will benefit from relatively inexpensive protein,while depleted capture fisheries are allowed to replenish. Egypt is Africa’s leading aquaculture country, followed by Nigeria with similar production systems. The dominant species offish cultured in Egypt and Nigeria are Tilapia and African catfish, respectively. The aquaculture industries in these two counties are very promising, as there is a presence of water bodies, some institutional commitment, and high demand for fish among others.Despite some gains made by the countries and the huge potential of the aquaculture sector, it is however bedeviled with constraints such as low technology adoption, inadequate supply of fingerlings, high cost offish feed, etc. This work is an overview of the aquaculture sectors of Egypt and Nigeria, which includes the production systems, prospects, and potentials of the sector and the constraints that affect aquaculture.

ARTICLEINFO

Keywords:

Aquaculture

Production

Systems

Prospects

Potentials

Constraints

Egypt

Nigeria

1.Introduction

Farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans,and aquatic plants, is aquaculture. Farming requires some form of interference in the breeding process to increase yield, such as daily storage, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated (Billard& Dabbadie, 2017; Enciso-L´opez & García-Trejo, 2019). Fish farming is regarded as a key agricultural and food-producing sector throughout the world. The promoters argue, while depleted fish catches can be re-filled,that aquaculture can meet the food security needs of millions of people in developing countries who will benefit from relatively cheap protein(Hagar Dighiesh, 2014; Wally, 2016). (see Figs. 1-9)

Fig 1.A farmed Nile tilapia.FAO/J.K. SahaSource: (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2020)

Fig. 2.North African catfish.Source: FAO

Fig. 3.Giant tiger prawns.Source: FAO/Freddrick Poh

Fig. 4.Giant river prawn.Source: FAO/N.P. Sahu

Fig. 5.Indian white prawn.Source: FAO

Fig. 6.Extensive aquaculture system.Source: FAO

Fig. 7.Semi-intensive aquaculture.Source: Authors

Fig. 8.Intensive aquaculture.Source: FAO/ Manu Potaros

Fig. 9.Integrated Rice field aquaculture.FAO/Stankus

The aquaculture industry, which accounts for over 50 percent of global fish production, is the fastest-growing food-producing sector.About 424 aquatic species are cultivated globally, benefiting millions through the provision of nutrition, food security and sustainable livelihood, and poverty reduction (Galappaththi, Aubrac, Ichien, Hyman, &Ford, 2020).

Over the past two decades, world aquaculture has developed tremendously to become an economically significant industry. The industry continues to grow at an average global annual growth level of 8.8 percent per year compared with all other animal food production industries (Onada & Ogunola, 2017).

Egypt is a country in North Africa that borders the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Neighboring countries include Libya, the Gaza Strip,and Sudan. Egypt includes parts of the Sahara Desert, Libyan Desert, and the Nile River, which runs from south to north. The government system is a republic; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Egypt has a mixed economic system which includes a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Egypt is a member of the League of Arab States (Arab League) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) (Michigan State University,2020a). Nigeria, on the other hand, is a West African country with a shoreline on the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Among the neighboring countries are Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The geography in the North ranges from southern coastal swamps to tropical forests, forests, grasslands, and semi-desert. The form of government is a federal republic; the president is the chief of state and head of government. Nigeria has a mixed economic system that includes a variety of private freedoms, coupled with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Nigeria is a member of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) (Michigan State University, 2020b).

Aquaculture has been practiced in Egypt for millennia, but modern approaches have only recently been adopted to maximize its output.Today, aquaculture production in Egypt is the largest in Africa, with approximately one million tonnes per annum (Shaalan, El-Mahdy,Saleh, & El-Matbouli, 2018). Aquaculture in Egypt, which is the largest aquaculture industry in Africa, is currently considered the main source offish supply, with total production quantities around 1.8 million tons. In this respect,fish aquaculture has increased rapidly from 0.54 million tons in 2005 to 1.23 million tons in 2015 due to rapid expansion in the application of new technologies such as the use of extruded feed,water circulation systems, and improved farm management practices (N.F. Soliman, 2017). Aquaculture in Egypt is a terrific success story. In addition to several lakes of different characteristics and the presence of the Nile River, it has vast areas of water fisheries but these sources are not adequately exploited. Despite the increase in fish production in Egypt from approximately 1.45 million tons in 2013 to approximately 1.82 million tons in 2017, with an increase of 25.0 percent, the price offish has risen from approximately L.E. 13.5/kg to around L.E. in 2013 24/kg in 2017, suggesting that the quantities offish produced do not meet the rising needs of consumers (A. Ali, ElSayed, Radwan, & Hefny,2020). Egypt is the seventh-largest aquaculture producer in the world by production quantity and the largest in Africa, accounting for 73.8 percent of aquaculture in Africa by volume and for 64.2 percent by value(Feidi, 2018). Nile tilapia is the main cultured species in Egypt that contributes about 65.15% of Egyptian fish production (Elsheshtawy,Yehia, Elkemary, & Soliman, 2019).

The FAO published fisheries statistics for 2015 indicate that Egypt’s fisheries production shows that total production from all sources (marine, freshwater, and aquaculture) reached 1.5 million tonnes, of which 1.2 million tonnes from aquaculture (78%) and 336,000 tonnes from capture (marine and inland fisheries) (22%) (Feidi, 2018).

Nigeria is the largest fish consumer in Africa and among the largest fish consumers in the world (Adelesi, 2019) with about 3.2 million metric tons offish consumed annually (The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2019). The aquaculture sub-sector is considered a very viable alternative to meeting the nation’s need for self-sufficiency in fish production. This is based on its high reliability in return on investment and low capital intensity relative to capture fisheries.

(Jerimoth, Irabor, & Ebuka, 2017). The focus of aquaculture in Nigeria is on fish culture with

Clarias and Heterobranchus

spp.

(catfish),Tilapia

spp.

(Tilapia), Cyprinus carpio (Common carp), Heterotis niloticus

(Slap water) the most commonly cultured species offish (Omeje, Sule, &Aguihe, 2020).

2.Current aquaculture and fishery production quantities of Egypt and Nigeria

Table 1 depicts Egyptian inland water aquaculture production by the source from 2015 to 2018, i.e. the official FAO current figures in the two different production sources/environments, Freshwater and Brackish water. The table revealed the big difference between the species produced in the two environments, and the most produced species producedis Nile tilapia which in effect, is the dominant fish species produced in Egypt. North African catfish is the least produced in the inland freshwater and brackish water aquaculture. All the figures in these production sources are regenerated by FAO from previous records since there are no official figures for 2020.

Table 1Egyptian inland water aquaculture production by source 2015–2018 (Tonnes).

Table 2 is about the Egyptian capture inland water aquaculture production from 2015 to 2018. The table list a wide range offish species captured in different quantities and notably, again, Nile

tilapia

is by far the most captured species,

Saddled seabream

and

Diadromous clupeoids nei

are the less one. 2017–2018 has seen a reduction in the capture aquaculture quantities of some species such as

Bayad, Diadromous clupeoids nei, Freshwater crustaceans nei, Freshwater molluscs nei, Saddled seabream

among others.

Table 2Egyptian capture inland water aquaculture production 2015–2018 (Tonnes).

In Table 3, Egyptian marine aquaculture production under brackish waters is mostly carried out in the Mediterranean and the Black sea. Few species offish are cultured in the seas, with a total production quantity reaching 265979 tonnes in 2018. Unlike Egypt, Nigeria inland water aquaculture production quantities are from only freshwater sources. As found in the literature, Table 4 confirms that the North African catfish, is the dominant fish species in the Nigerian aquaculture industry. The specie with the least production quantities is

Freshwater fishes nei.

Table 3Egyptian marine production under brackish waters 2015–2018 (Tonnes).

There are a lot offish species in capture inland aquaculture in Nigeria. Among these species,

Tilapias nei

,

Torpedo-shaped catfishes nei

,and

North African catfish

are the most produced, while

Knifefishes

is the less produced.

Tilapias nei

, which has been the dominant fish species in capture aquaculture in Nigeria has increased in quantities from 2015 to 2017 with 57423, 67922, 73325 tonnes respectively, as can be seen in Table 5. However,

Tilapias nei

production reduced by 3746 tonnes in 2018 from the 2017figure (see Table 6).

Table 4Nigerian inland water aquaculture production by source 2015–2018 (Tonnes).

Table 5Nigerian inland water capture production 2015–2018 (Tonnes).

Table 6Constraints in Aquaculture and fish farming in Egypt and Nigeria.

3.Main aquaculture production systems in Egypt and Nigeria

Egypt has the largest aquaculture industry in Africa. The total market value of the industry was US$ 2.2 billion in 2015 (1 USD =8.88 Egyptian Pounds). Egyptian aquaculture currently provides almost 79% of the country’s fish needs, with almost all the output coming from small and medium-sized privately owned farms. Small, and medium-scale fish farms have intensified their fish production from earthen ponds using new technologies, rendering farmed tilapia one of the cheapest sources of animal protein available to Egyptian consumers. The semi-intensive aquaculture system is by far the most widely used fish farming systemin Egypt, contributing 80% of the total production. Intensive systems in tanks and cages are rapidly developing. Egypt’s main production system comprises the following: A) Extensive aquaculture- Restocking of lakes with a fish fry and fingerlings, stocking of grass carp in the Nile, enclosures, and pond culture. B) Semi-intensive aquaculture, C) Intensive aquaculture-concrete ponds, tank culture, greenhouse culture, and cage culture; and D) integrated aquaculture production system (Wally, 2016).

Over the past 35 years, aquaculture production in Nigeria has grown 12% a year (compared to the world average of 8%), from a little over 6000 metric tons in 1980 to nearly 307,000 metric tons in 2016. The country is the largest aquaculture fish producer in sub-Saharan Africa,accounting for 52% of the total farmed fish production in the region.Nigeria’s aquaculture focuses mainly on freshwater fish, with catfish species accounting for 64% of aquaculture production in 2015 (World-Fish, 2018). Nigeria is one of the top aquaculture producers in Africa and the leading producer in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with numerous opportunities for large-scale production, and 80% of production is from small-scale farmers who are involved in brackish and freshwater cultivation, except mariculture which has several setbacks. Nigeria’s aquaculture production systems are in the forms, A) Extensive system-seaweed culture, coastal bivalve culture, coastal fish ponds,and pen and cage culture, B) Semi-intensive system-Fresh and brackish water pond, C) Integrated agriculture-aquaculture, D) sewage-fish culture, E) intensive systems and others like raceways, silos, and tanks, etc.In addition to the use of ponds,fish are also cultured in various water holding facilities, such as pens, happas, tanks, cages, raceways, etc.(Orobator, Akiri-Obaroakpo, & Orowa, 2020). The aquaculture production systems in both Nigerian and Egypt are almost producing the same percentages of their top farmed fish species; however, Nigeria has about a 2% higher per capita consumption than Egypt, even though Egypt’s production is much higher than that of Nigeria (Obwanga,Rurangwa, van Duijn, Soma, & Kilelu, 2018).

3.1.Extensive system

In the Extensive aquaculture system, species are reared within earthen ponds, pen enclosures, rice fields, or small water bodies, at low(extensive) to moderate (semi-intensive) stocking densities and farm inputs. This system most commonly for freshwater staple-food species by small-scale farmers in developing countries. Dietary nutrient supply may range from none at all (extensive system) Use of fertilizers for the controlled production of live food organisms, use of supplementary, or nutritionally complete aquafeeds (Mao, 2016).

In Egypt, a traditional extensive production system, a famous regime for aquaculture called the “HOSHA” system was commonly practiced during the forties to the seventies. This is how the system works, the farmer builds his muddy pond on the lakeshore and allows water from the lake to come in, with no control for species or size of the fish (N. F.Soliman & Yacout, 2016). With the “Hosha” farming system, enclosures are made in natural waters like lagoons, rivers, and lakes. Fish (mainly tilapia) are trapped in the ‘hosha’ and rely on natural food. The system is characterized by low levels of intervention, limited use of inputs, low capital investment, and low yields of approximately 250 kg/ha (Rothuis et al., 2013; Shaheen, Seisay, & Nouala, 2013, pp. 1–81).

Extensive fish culture in Egypt and extensively other Near East and North Africa (NENA) region counties such as the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Iraq Libya, the Kingdom of Morocco, and the Syrian Arab Republic is based mainly on stocking inland water bodies with fish juveniles either captured or hatchery-produced. Small, permanent lakes, surface water retention lakes, dams, reservoirs, and seasonal lakes are widely used for this purpose. Stocked fish species typically consist of the common carp(

Cyprinus carpio

), grass carp (

Ctenopharyngodon Idella

), silver carp(Hypophthalmichthys molithrix), and occasionally tilapia (El-Sayed,2017). Egyptian extensive aquaculture is carried out in earthen ponds or floating cages located in natural water compounds.

Artisanal fishermen and fishing communities in Nigeria had for generations practiced traditional methods offish culture in tidal pools and floodplains. These are extensive systems that do not conform to the modern perspective of aquaculture and do not contribute significantly to the national economy. Aquaculture production in Nigeria is predominately an extensive land-based system practiced at subsistence levels(Daramola, Osofero, Kester, & Gbadamosi, 2017; Okwodu, 2016).Extensive aquaculture carried out in Nigeria is done in reservoirs and undrainable ponds. The fish once stocked is left to their natural carrying capacity of the pond water. It is characterized by low input, low-densitystocking no artificial feeding, no fertilization, and the yield per unit area is low and improves pond management (Okwodu, 2016).

3.2.Semi-intensive

In Egypt, semi-intensive aquaculture was more commonly carried out in farms operated by the government where polyculture was practiced in smaller ponds of between 2 and 6 ha with the use of fertilizers and supplementary feeding (FAO, 2003). The first modern semi-intensive commercial farm in Egypt was built by the government in 1961 (Feidi, 2018). Semi-intensive pond aquaculture is the basic system used in the country; the majority of the ponds are large (between 2 and 8 ha) with a recorded total production of 597,881 tonnes in 2009(GAFRD, 2010) or approximately 86% of the total aquaculture production. Most of the farms are located in the northern and eastern parts of the Nile Delta, where they utilize both brackish and freshwater. The stocking densities, energy input, level of management as well as the size and type of infrastructure vary greatly among different farms. The total land area used for this kind of aquaculture is 159,191 ha, with an annual per hectare production of between 2.8 and 8 tonnes (FAO, 2003). The dominant type of semi-intensive system operated in Egypt is the pond culture, which is very important in the country where it has been successful in developing the fisheries sub-sector based on concerted efforts in fish farming. Semi-intensive pond culture systems comprise approximately 85% of the total production using earthen ponds (Mbowa,Odokonyero, & Munyaho, 2017; Shaheen et al., 2013, pp. 1–81).

In Nigeria, in the semi-intensive culture system,fishes are stocked at a higher stocking density than the extensive system and fed with supplementary feed to support the natural food supply. There is usually pond fertilization to increase nutrient requirements in the semiintensive culture system. Its production cost is usually moderate, and its yield is higher than the case in the extensive system, above 10,000 kg/ha/year (Iruo, Onyeneke, Eze, Uwadoka, & Igberi, 2018).

In Nigeria, with semi-intensive aquaculture, the pond is fertilized with organic and inorganic fertilizer, a small quantity of supplemental feeding, and occasionally, the yield is intermediate between those obtained from intensive and extensive culture. Most aquaculture undertakings in the tropics are of this nature (Okwodu, 2016). This is the nature of the semi-intensive aquaculture system in Nigeria.

3.3.Intensive aquaculture

The intensive fish culture system is one where fish are stocked at a high density and fed exclusively on a nutritionally balanced diet to meet their nutrient requirements (Iruo et al., 2018). Success in intensive aquaculture depends on the quality offish feeds since it determines the growth of the fish and to some extent, the proliferation of bacteria in the system (Jamabo, Ukwe, & Amachree, 2019).

Intensive culture in earthen ponds and tanks is now developing quickly as a response to the potential drop in the number of extensive farming units. Fish culture systems are increasingly intensive, largely due to the shortage of water, land, and labor resources. There is also a need in Egypt for the quick production of market-sized fish to meet the demand of an increasing population (M. A.-H. Soltan, 2013). Intensive tank tilapia culture in Egypt is slowly growing, especially in arid and semi-arid areas where freshwater or brackish water is limited (Cai,Quagrainie, & Hishamunda, 2017). Intensive fish cage culture now contributes to around 10% of the total aquaculture production in Egypt.Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, is the principal cage culture species.The sizes of the cages varied from small cages of around 32 mto larger cages of approximately 600 m. Smaller cages (2–4 m3) suspended in drainage canals are also used in rural areas (Mehrim, Refaey, El-Shebly,& Behery, 2016).

Nigerian aquaculture industry produced over, 30,000 tons of various freshwater and brackish water fish species, comprising mainly herbivorous/carnivorous catfishes that are being reared under intensive(commercial) and semi-intensive (artisanal) production systems (Erinsakin et al., 2020).

Intensive aquaculture can produce a large quantity offish per unit area but rarely occurs without the efficient production offish seed(Onada & Ogunola, 2017).

3.4.Integrated aquaculture production system

Integrated aquaculture farming, defined broadly, is a concurrent or sequential link between two or more activities, of which at least one is aquaculture. They may occur directly on-site or indirectly through offsite needs and opportunities, or both (Fregene, 2017). Integrated agri-aquaculture uses fish ponds as a wheat field to benefit from the soil with high contents of nitrogen and phosphorus, and the drainage water,which is lost in lakes, especially fish ponds, are useless in winter season due to the high cost offish feeding and the very low rate of weight increase in fish and the increasing death offish due to cold weather.

One of the forms of integrated fish farming in Egypt is a rice field aquaculture. There are two methods for rearing fish in the rice field: 1.the simultaneous method, 2. the Alternate method. The most common method in Egypt is simultaneous, in which both rice and fish are grown together, and it is the real rice-fish cultivation (Shaheen et al., 2013, pp.1–81). The potential of rearing fish in rice fields in an integrated system in Egypt has increased. Rice-fish farming has attracted the attention of many rice farmers in recent years and has been very successful (Cai et al., 2017).

Integrating agriculture and aquaculture can contribute to alleviating food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty through the provision of high nutritional value for food, income, and job creation reduced production risk, improved access to water, sustainable management of resources and increased farm sustainability (Omofunmi, Adisa, Alegbeleye, &Oloye, 2017).

In Nigeria, to help smallholder farmers improve their production,food security, and profits, the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) and the University of Ibadan (UI) have recently promoted the integration offish, poultry/pig, and rice farming. This will translate into viable and sustainable aquaculture (Adewumi, 2015). The rising cost of production offish,chemical fertilizers, and available space are the main drivers of the system. The combination offish culture with crop production and animal husbandry is an environmentally sound farming system that gives an inexpensive source of protein for the rural people, a better farm income, and increased output per small land area and increases the supply of feed for the livestock farming system. Integrated aquaculture in Nigeria is in the form: Livestock -fish integrated systems, Crop -fish integrated systems including rice integrated with the fish system, horticulture integrated with the fish system, sericulture integrated with the fish system, and mushroom integrated with the fish system. There is also the concept of integrated multitrophic aquaculture-recycling of resources in which discharged nutrients from higher trophic levels become the input to the lower trophic levels (Melaku & Natarajan, 2019).

The nature of and types of integrated fish farming in Nigeria are of the following types: Fish Cum Poultry-This system utilizes poultry dropping of fully built-up poultry litter for fish culture, and Fish Cum Piggery-This system has certain advantages over others. Pig farming is widely practiced across the southern and middle belt of Nigeria. It offers the farmer husbandry that is easier than chicken farming, Fish Cum Rice,and Vegetable-This is the cultivation of crops (e.g., vegetables and arable like maize, rice, etc.) and aquatic plants (like water spinach,water chestnut, aquatic weeds like Pistia, duckweed, water hyacinth,and Azolla, etc.) with fish farming. The common practice in fish cum crop production in the country is in the cultivation offish with rice and vegetables (Zira, Ja’afaru, Badejo, Ghumdia, & Ali, 2015).

A wide range offish species have been tested in rice fields, including cichlid Oreochromis niloticus, common carp Cyprinus carpio and major Indian carp such as Catla (Catla catla) Mrigal Cirrhinus mrigala) and Rohu(Labeo ruita). Other fish species that have shown good results and are highly acceptable in Asia and China include Chinese carps such as silver carp (Ctenopharyngodon Idella), freshwater prawns, etc. (Nwosu, 2017).

In Nigeria for instance, more than 1.5 million hectares of swamp areas in the Niger Delta and also in the Niger flood plains between Yauri and Lokoja (Kebbi and Kogi) and the Benue flood plains have good prospects for rice-cum-fish cultivation. Currently, rice-cum-fish farming is not practiced as a culture system in Nigeria. The capture method is a common practice. It is also the first method initially adopted by Asian countries before being concurrent or rotational. The traditional method refers to the practice in which wild fish species, mainly catfish; Clarias,and Hetrobranchus, which enter flooded rice paddies from streams or irrigation canals, are trapped and allowed to grow along with rice. When rice is harvested,fish are caught for sale or consumption. Catfish species(Clarias and Hetrobranchus) are mostly caught in this type of system as they can move 169 m from one environment to another with or without water (Ujoh, Ujoh, & Kile, 2016). In Egypt, common carp and tilapia(Oreochromis niloticus) are the main species used in traditional rice-fish culture (Suloma & Ogata, 2006).

4.Feeding in aquaculture

Feed determines to a large extent the sustainability in aquaculture since the survival and growth of the fish larvae depend on the quality of feeds used (Jamabo et al., 2019). Quality fish feed production in aquaculture is one of the major determinants of significant growth, efficiency in feed utilization, and flesh quality of the fish produced (Ogueji, Iheanacho, Mbah, Yaji, & Ezemagu, 2020). Fish feed represents almost 65–70% of the fish culture inputs (M. A. M. Soliman, Batran, Soliman, &Gomha, 2018a). Research is being done to find innovative sources offish feed with the right nutritional values that can replace or augment conventional aquaculture or fish feed.

The result in Irungu et al. (2018) established that both adult cricket meal and black soldier fly larvae meal can be used to substitute freshwater shrimp meal up to 75% in fish feeds and supply both tilapia and catfish (The dominant species cultured in Egypt and Nigeria) with adequate quantities of minerals such as potassium. Kumar et al. (2018)also concluded that tapioca could completely replace corn at the inclusion level of 30% in the supplementary diet of O. belangeri. It is recommended that dried poultry droppings at a 30% inclusion level could replace soybean meal in the practical diets for Oreochromis niloticus without any deleterious effects. They further recommend that it is,reasonable to only use livestock wastes from organic production systems as substitutes for expensive components in organic fish feed production(George, Nwaezeigwe, Abdul, & Jegede, 2018).

In the bit to diversify sources of aquafeed, Ogueji et al. (2020)revealed that partial replacement of SM (soybean meal) with DCNM(Discarded cashew nut meal) had no adverse effect on fish’s nutritional wellbeing, assessed through histological results obtained from the study.Full dietary replacement of SM with DCNM, however, resulted in mild histological degenerations of the organs assessed. Nevertheless, this suggests the use of DCNM in the diet of C. gariepinus not exceeding 50% as a replacement for SM. The results in El Asely, Reda, Salah, Mahmoud,and Dawood (2020) also showed that vegetable oils corn oil (CO),sunflower oil (SFO), and linseed oil (LnO) did not impair the growth performance of Nile tilapia. This suggests that the vegetable oils used in this study could be used to replace FO. In line with our results, replacing of FO with vegetable oil sources resulted in improved growth and diet efficiency in Nile tilapia. Therefore this can represent a good source of feed in aquaculture. Examples of aquaculture research into feed are growing.

Mung Beans Seed (MBS) is also proposed as a replacement for soybean meal in feed for the different aquaculture species. However, proponents of this aquafeed source of feed formulation recommend further studies into the method (M. A. M. Soliman, Batran, Soliman, & Gomha,2018b). Also, LFDB (Lipid-free dry biomass) rich in proteins and carbohydrates can be used efficiently for animal feeding including fish(Ashour, Elshobary, El-Shenody, Kamil, & Abomohra, 2019).

In Bowyer, El-Haroun, Hassaan, Salim, and Davies (2019), the growth performance of pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) significantly improved with yeast extract supplemented. Fish wastes after some processing represent a good source for animal nutrition which can be prepared as protein source for fish due to its high contents offish protein containing the essential amino acids (M. A. Soltan, Fouad, El-Zyat, &Zead, 2017). In African catfish (Claris gariepinus), fermented fish silage can successfully replace up to 50 percent offish meal, diets without adverse effects on growth performance or feed utilization. Replacing 50% offish meal with fermented fish by silage reduced feed costs by 16.14% and reduced feed costs (L.E)/kg weight gain by 24.41% (M. A.Soltan et al., 2017).

A majority offish farmers in developing countries including Egypt and Nigeria use locally made fish feeds or commercially imported feeds for Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) production. The imported fish feed is more expensive than the locally made ones. Hence, many fish farmers use locally made fish feed usually produced and stored in large quantities to reduce production costs and increase profit margins. The locally-made feeds are usually from locally available plant and animal wastes like rice, maize, and wheat bran, blood meal, cottonseed cake, and sunflower seedcakes, and soybeans, and cassava. These ingredients can be ground manually and mixed in a hand-operated mixer and then made into pellets using a pelleting machine. Such ingredients are often subjected to contamination by molds during preharvest and/or due to poor storage conditions(Marijani, Kigadye, & Okoth, 2019).

In Egypt, rising costs and limited availability of fishmeal have led to investigations either to reduce or replace the content of fishmeal with more economic protein sources of plant and/or animal origin. The efficiency of various alternative animal protein sources has been assessed in fish diets, e.g. meat and bone meal, poultry by-product meal, turkey meal, gambusia meal, tuna liver meal, and smelt meal, housefly maggot meal. The need for cheap, protein-rich feed is a universal requirement,relevant to both large and small producers. For example, in Fish Rearing Lab. Shakshouk Fish Research Station, El-Fayoum Governorate, an artificial diet based on fish meal was formulated as the only source of animal protein and a mixture of corn gluten, yellow corn and soy meal as a source of plant protein. Fish oil and sunflower oil were added to the experimental diet as the main dietary lipid source. The diet formulated to contain almost 50 percent crude protein was a handmade diet (Saleh,Mohammed, Aljilany, Allam, & Abou-Zied, 2016).

Using locally produced raw materials, the main protein sources used for fish feed production in Egypt are soya bean meal (SBM) Other protein sources, such as cottonseed meal (CSM), meat and bone meal and poultry by-product meal, are occasionally included at much lower levels. Major dietary energy sources are generally included at the following levels: yellow maize (10–35 percent), wheat bran (20–30 percent), rice bran (10–25 percent) and vegetable oil (1–5 percent). The levels of inclusion of these ingredients depend on protein (including 20–40 percent) and fish meal (3–22 percent). Feed energy content,availability, and prices of ingredients,fish species, and sizes. Depending on the formulations used, between 50% and 99 percent of the feed ingredients used in aquafeed production are imported into Egypt. Several local suppliers and traders also supply ingredients to small feed producers (El-Sayed, Dickson, & El-Naggar, 2015).

Research carried out by Shalaby, El-Dakar, Sakr, and Abdel Moniem(2014) at the Fish Nutrition Laboratory, Aquaculture Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Alexandria Branch Egypt recommended the use of black pepper seeds meal in fish feeds on the commercial scale at the level of 0.5%.

Two or more ingredients should be mixed in a home-made, laboratory, and commercial feed formulations. Supplementary fish feed may consist of by-products such as wheat bran, copra meal, wheat flour,oilseed cakes (e.g. rapeseed, peanuts, and soya), green feed, corn bran,poultry waste and/or food scraps. A broad range of ingredients is used in the preparation of aquafeeds, including aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals, plant or grain processing products and by-products e.g.Oiled Cakes and Meals, Beans, Grains and Brans and animal by-products e.g. Meat and Bone Meal, Bone Meal, Blood Meal, Feather Meal. Potential alternatives are non-conventional ingredients with little or no use as human food. Potential alternatives are non-conventional ingredients with little or no use as human food, such as blood meal, brewery waste,and poultry and fish by-products (Hailu, Getahun, & Wakjira, 2019).

One type of home-made fish feed is prepared from a blender of rice bran, corn grain, wheat, shrimp grain,fish grain, oil cake, soybean, fat,vitamins, and minerals. Another home-made feed is a blend of corn grain, wheat, spirulina, shrimp grain, soybean, fat, vitamins, and minerals. One problem with homemade aquafeed is that it can contain heavy metals (Hossain et al., 2016).

There are now increasing attempts to develop standard practical diets for farmed fish in Nigeria. A wide range of feedstuffs is produced as a by-product of the animal processing industry. Some of these feedstuffs are currently used in animal and fish rations. Two sources offish feed have been identified, namely farm-based and commercial feed. There are few commercial sources offish feed specializing only in animal feed and also engaged in the production offish feed on demand, as the majority offish feed produced (69–75 percent) is farm-made. There are two major types offish feed produced by the fish feed industry in Nigeria,namely herbivorous fish (Tilapia) feed containing 30–35% crude protein and carnivorous fish (catfish) feed containing 45–50% crude protein(Ahmad MK, 2016).

Research into means of redressing feed costs by using local alternative feed ingredients that are common, cheaper, and readily available in Nigeria was done by Eyiwumi, Augustine, and Ovie (2018). The study showed that premix in fish feed could be replaced with Moringa oleifera leaf meal up to 1.5% level in Clarias gariepinus diets without any negative effects on the hematological parameters, health, and feed efficiency. In Ssepuuya et al. (2017), research published so far proves the potential of insects for use in poultry and fish production systems. Insect-based feed can replace conventional protein sources by 10–100% without affecting the growth performance offish and poultry, and in some cases,performing better than feeds with conventional protein sources such as fish and soy meal. Hence they advocates that insect-based fish feed in Sub-Saharan Africa should be employed.

Felix and Oscar (2018) found that the use of baobab leaf meal (BLM)as a binder and floatability agent in local feed formulation has yielded a very positive result in the present. Baobab leaf meal (BLM) is relatively cheap, toxic-free, and available specifically in the northern part of Nigeria. Baobab leaf meal (BLM) is easy to process and its usage in floating feed formulation is cheap compared to the cost of importing extruded floating feed from the western nation.

Some of the notable commercially prepared imported fish feeds in Nigeria are Coppens, Aqua, Ranna, Pira, and Durante with the Crude protein, Crude lipid, Crude fibre, and Ash being the proximate composition of the feeds. There were significant differences in the feed brands concerning the weight gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio,protein efficiency ratio, survival rate as well as feed cost per kg weight gain (Tunde, Oluwagbemiga, Babatunde, & Oluseyi, 2016).

5.Aquaculture water management

Water is the most important element for aquaculture production when selecting a site, the source of water and its suitability must be considered since the quality of the water determines the ultimate success or failure of an aqua operation. Poor water quality can affect the production, growth, or quality offish products by contaminating their flavour or causing bioaccumulation due to high concentrations of certain elements or toxic substances (Aniebone, Mohammed, Nwamba,& Abe, 2018). Water quality monitoring can be used as an index to assess the status of the aquatic ecosystem in which the fish lives (Olanrewaju,Ajani, & Kareem, 2017). Anyadike, Mbajiorgu, and Ajah (2017) point out that high carbon dioxide level of water affects the fishes’ blood capacity to transport oxygen, aggravating the stress imposed by low dissolved oxygen levels especially as the average fish weight increase.

Most instances offish kills, disease outbreaks, poor growth, and poor feed-conversion efficiency are directly or indirectly related to poor water quality. The most important water-quality variables in aquaculture usually are dissolved oxygen (DO), unionized ammonia (NH3),nitrite, nitrate, total alkalinity, total hardness, and pH (Naigaga, Boyd,Gaillard, Abdelrahman, & Molnar, 2017). The most important treatment of water in recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) is the biological process that uses the nitrification process to convert toxic ammonia to less toxic nitrate. The use of RAS has contributed immensely to the development of aquaculture due to its various advantages, including reduced water use through partial re-use of cultured water, reduced environmental impacts from fish farming systems through improved waste management and nutrient recycling, improved sanitation,reduced disease outbreaks, and limited biological control (Dauda,Natrah, Karim, Kamarudin, & Bichi, 2018). The Water-analysis kit (Hach DO kit) can be used to make acceptable decisions related to water-quality management in aquaculture since this test kit gives results in κ value ≥ 0.6 (preferred result) (Naigaga et al., 2017).

Dawah, Soliman, Abomohra, Battah, and Anees (2015) conducted a pre-test experiment in 3 m3 outdoor concrete ponds to determine the optimum concentration of aluminum sulfate (alum) required for reduction of the cyanobacteria blooms without negative effect on fish growth because of the eruption of blue-green algal blooms which occurs frequently in eutrophic lakes and fish ponds, with an associated unpleasant odor and horrid scums. The results revealed that 10 mg L−1 alum effectively reduced blue-green algal biomass and decreased the water turbidity of tilapia earthen ponds without any negative effect on fish growth. Also, using 10 mg L−1 of alum showed no negative effect on water quality since the recorded values of different Physico-chemical water parameters were in the safe range recommended by international standards.

Data in the El-Bagouria Canal at Kafr El-Zayat Region, El-Gharbia Governorate in Egypt exhibited the highest values of heavy metals in the different organs of O.niloticus i.e the liver and kidney and the lowest were observed in the muscles. Biochemical analysis indicated devastating effects, especially enzyme activities, in the metabolic organs(Ghanem, Shehata, & Ghanem, 2016).

Lake Mariout was one of the most important shallow coastal lakes north of the Nile Delta of Egypt that produces between 50 and 70% of the total fish production of the coastal lakes, but it was widely used to drain industrial wastes, sewage, and agriculture drainage. As a consequence of environmental degradation, it has changed from being the most productive fishery resource of the four major Egyptian brackish water lakes to the least productive in a couple of decades. Lakes Edku,Burullus, Manzala together with Lake Mariout, adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea are economically the most important fishing ground, and they provide a rich and vital habitat for estuarine and marine fish and their regeneration. Unfortunately, they have become the principal depository for Nile drainage and wastes (Ali & Khairy, 2016; Palter,Marinov, Sarmiento, & Gruber, 2006).

Shaker, Soliman, Abou Zead, and Abd El Hamid (2015) evaluated growth, survival, biomass production, and body composition of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) grey mullet (Mugil cephalus L.)fingerlings in twenty-four earthen pond production trials. Performance of tilapia and mullet fingerlings in earthen ponds and on water Quality was focused. It was discovered that the Physico-chemical water quality standard was within the acceptable range for tilapia and Mullet culture under Egyptian conditions.

According to the Egyptian strategy, there is a continuous effort to develop wastewater management plans for aquaculture to protect the environment and natural resources. Crushed granite gives promising results on its adsorbent ability on circulation aquaculture waste effluents with 10 g/L being the most efficient dose. This will constitute an added value to the aquaculture industry and also lead to the management of the undesirable residues from granite industry (El-Sherbiny,EL-Chaghaby, & Abd El-Shafea, 2019).

6.Major diseases in Fishery and Aquaculture

The outbreak of diseases is one of the major setbacks in aquaculture production. This leads to economic losses and scarcity offish and fish products. Diseases due to the presence of bacteria are the main cause of death in aquaculture, particularly in the hatchery, and two factors determining the presence of bacteria in aquaculture are the source of water and the type of feed administered (Jamabo et al., 2019). Bacterial diseases are responsible for sever mortalities and morbidities in cultured Nile tilapia in Egypt in various freshwater fish farms and the increase of water temperature in summer has a significant effect on mortalities(Enany, Eidaroos, & Eltamimy, 2019). In Ogbonna and Inana (2018)predominant bacterial isolates from the cultures of swabs from the skins of infected fishes on various media were characterized and identified as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter and Enterococcus fecalis. For exampleTilapia,Lake Virus disease is a devastating fish disease causing high mortality in Tilapia with subsequent losses in the fisheries sector mainly in aquaculture (Hounmanou et al., 2018).

In analyzing for the microbial load of culture water and physiochemical parameters, the water parameters analyzed are pH, dissolved oxygen, total gas pressure, ammonia, temperature, conductivity,turbidity, nitrate, total dissolved solids, ammonia and alkalinity and temperature (Folorunso, Aibinu, Kolo, Sadiku, & Orire, 2019; Uchechukwu & Okoli, 2019). Radwan, Mokhamer, Radwan, and Elsaka(2019) assert that organic pollutants are often reported in the muscle offish in polluted sites with high significance rates. Some of these organic pollutants are; Dimethomorph-(E), Hexestrol, Diisobutyl phthalate,Diamyl phthalate, Vamidothion.

7.Constraints in aquaculture development in Egypt and Nigeria

Globally, although aquaculture is expected to grow and that fish production and related fish consumption will mainly originate from aquaculture, many factors might affect the prospects of the aquaculture sector. These include land and water and associated conflicts, feed, seed supply, and genetic resources, environmental integrity and disease problems, development and adoption of new and improved farming technologies, market, trade, and food safety, climate change, investment capital impediments, and problems that can originate from unguided and unmonitored aquaculture practices (FAO, 2016).

Generally, the constraints in the aquaculture industry in Africa,which include Egypt and Nigeria, feature the following: inadequate supply of fish fingerlings, improper management practices, high cost offish pond establishment, cost offish feed, lack of quality of the ready fish market, lack of awareness of available innovations, etc. These constraints can be institutional and socio-cultural (Tall, 2017). Aquaculture requires knowledge and skills in many aspects of production such as spawning, production of feeds, pond construction, and management.Therefore the lack of expertise and skills in these aspects represents a bigger challenge (Edun, Akinrotimi, & Eshiett, 2018).

7.1.Egypt

One production system in Egypt which is becoming a widely used production system but fraught with several constraints is integrated aquaculture. Some of these constraints include (i) farmers are not allowed to use irrigation water in aquaculture; (ii) land contracts may not allow integrated aquaculture; (iii) the concept and benefits of integrated aquaculture with land crops have not been well disseminated to or received by farmers, and (iv) farmers generally prefer traditional farming systems to the “risky” systems. These issues should be tackled by decision-makers to promote aquaculture-agriculture integration (Cai et al., 2017).

The aquafeed industry in Egypt is particularly dire. The following constraints have been identified as major threats to the development of the aquafeed industry in Egypt, the dependence of the sector on the importation of feed inputs and continuous increase in their prices. The rapid growth of aquaculture is expected to create competition for raw materials between the aquafeed and animal feed industries, which may further influence the price of feeds, the use of old, and compressed feed technology. Compressed feeds lead to substantial feed waste due to the poor feed conversion ratio (FCR). All feed mills work for six to seven months per year, while permanent employees get their salaries for the whole year. This reduces the profit margins of mill owners and forces them to reduce permanent employment. Many fish feed mills lack basic quality control standards, concerning feed quality, composition, processing, storage, handling, and transportation due to the absence of governmental monitoring and inspection. Many fish farmers lack the accessibility to credit and financial support. As a result, they purchase the feeds from producers or traders on credit for higher prices, and sometimes they receive poor quality feed (El-Sayed, 2014).

7.2.Nigeria

Stakeholders have highlighted several constraints, which work against increased aquaculture production and fisheries growth in Nigeria. The key constraints in Nigeria and Africa as a whole for the growth of aquaculture and sustainable cage culture include the unavailability of locally produced, high-quality extruded feeds at reasonable prices using local raw material. Other constraints include lack of cage culture training, lack of processing and routes to developed markets in some countries, traditionally low prices and quality of wild fish in the region, lack of potential investors willing to take long-term investment risk in Nigeria and lack of expertise in disease identification and management (Jega, Haque, & Miah, 2018). Also, in Nigeria, aquaculture does not typically attract the wealthy who perceive aquaculture risks as high and financing difficult. The wealthy prefer offshore fishing and trading (Oluwatobi, Mutalib, Adeniyi, Olabode, & Adeyemi, 2017). This serves as a disincentive for the development of the sector. The major problem has been the inadequacy of appropriate technologies. Inadequate information on aquaculture technology, insufficient financial support, inadequate technology, inadequate technical know-how, in-availability of extension agents, unfavorable environmental conditions,inadequate training, and technical support (Abegunrin, Oyelami, Aboderin, Oloba, & Ajanaku, 2019).

One major problem identified by Ifeonu, Chukwuemeka, and Agwu(2019) in the Nigerian fish farming sector, is the low patronage of the sector by the vast majority of young people. If the youth got involved in the fish farming business, there would an upsurge of production and employment generation. Unfortunately, the issues enumerated above represent a disincentive, Poor access to formal credits facilities, Difficulty in land acquisition, inadequate water supply Poor source of fingerlings, Disease outbreaks, Inadequate/lack of extension services, Poor road network/transportation, Epileptic power supply, and poor storage facilities. Other constraints include poor access to modern technologies,Scarcity/unstable prices of fingerlings, inadequate information on management practices, Limited knowledge on diseases and health management in fish farming, and the Unavailability of high-quality fish feed.

Wasini (2016) further highlights the constraints in the aquaculture sector, among which are lack of access to capital, lack of an effective legal framework for aquaculture, lack of assured access to land, difficulty in accessing farm inputs, lack of government support, insufficient capital for production activities, difficulty in getting loans for expansion,poor pricing of harvested fish, poor power supply, and theft from neighborhoods. The other is the lack of inexpensive quality feed, an insufficient supply of fingerlings, a lack of trained workers, and poaching. Cannibalism, poor access to credit, poor access to extension services, high cost of feed, poor fish breed, high cost of material for pond construction, water scarcity are also identified as some of the challenges(Ume, Ebeniro, Ochiaka, & Uche, 2016).

Onuche, Ahmed, and Ebenehi (2020)in a study carried out in Kogi state to assess the constraints to catfish farming, one of the dominants species produced in Nigeria further unearthed the following challenges,Inadequate finance, High cost offish feed, Inadequate power supply,Predators, Marketing challenges, Poor storage facility, Lack of government support, Transportation cost, Disease, Inadequate drug supply,poor road network, Challenges of water sources, High Temperature,High rate of evaporation, Poor water quality, Seasonal storms and flooding, Scarcity of viable seed, Small pond size, Cannibalism, Lack of access to extension services, Lack of experience and Poor expertise.

Ifeanyi-Obi and Iremesuk (2018), respondents in the study identified Constraints faced by artisanal fishermen in Eastern Obolo local government area which among others, Militant activities hinder fishing,Shortage of man-power, Increased pressure on fisheries resources,Inadequate finance, Poor storage facilities, Poor sales, Unfavorable union activities, and levies, High cost of instruments.

The various challenges and constraints affecting aquaculture and general fishing sub-sectors of Egypt and Nigeria are almost similar and to a large extent can be addressed by deliberate government policies and programs. These programs and policies must focus on aquaculture and fishery systems that chain out higher production quantities and areas where more people are engaged in.

8.Prospects and potential of aquaculture in Egypt and Nigeria

In recent times, there has been a rise in aquaculture development in Africa, which is attributed to three main factors, namely, (i) increasing demand for fish, (ii) improved environment for investments, and (iii)reduced risk of production. The rising African middle-class and urban population, coupled with the general rise in economic development, has led to rising demand for fish and aquaculture, especially in the periurban zones. This is evident in the rise in GDP for the top countries with the fastest rising aquaculture production over the past few years.This situation suggests a positive environment for investment and increased production (Kaunda & Chimatiro, 2015).

8.1.Egypt

In Egypt, the potential of the fish culture industry is great. This is due to the presence of the following natural resources: a) the long seashores bordering the north and east coasts of the country, b) the long river Nile crossing the country from the high dam at south to the Mediterranean sea in the north, c) the numerous small branches making a large net of water stream either supplying the lands by irrigated or draining water and d) some large lakes with brackish water scattered all over the country (M. A.-H. Soltan, 2013). The number offish hatcheries has also increased (N. F. Soliman & Yacout, 2016).

The Egyptian aquaculture sector growth followed a path of being stimulated by the Government whereby farmers were encouraged and facilitated to shift from traditional semi-intensive earthen ponds to a modern and sophisticated way offish farming (intensive systems with aeration and use of formulated feeds). This change in production systems was matched by an increase in demand for quality fingerlings and fish feed, hence creating opportunities for growth of vibrant fish feed industries and commercial hatcheries. Currently, the country has about 600 hatcheries and several fish feed milling companies producing extruded feed which although slightly expensive than the conventional fish feeds are preferred due to their better feed conversion ratios (FCRs)(Obwanga et al., 2018).

One other reason for the bright future of the aquaculture industry in Egypt is the involvement of the private sector, which has already resulted in the decline of state-owned fish farms and a rise in private fish farms. The privately managed farm production represented 87.2% in 1996 and increased to 98.7% in 2006. The reasons for the leading role of private farms are flexibility in management (Nassr0Alla, 2008).

The development of a strong institutional base is another reason for the success of aquaculture in Egypt. Local research institutions and the World Fish Center, with its regional office in Abbassa, near Cairo, are helping improve productivity, increase employment, and intensify production from farms and expand into new ones (Feidi, 2018).

There is also a deliberate government policy to boost the supply offish to Egyptian consumers to achieve self-sufficiency. The government decided to implement large-scale integrated aquaculture projects to achieve its objectives. There is a strong legislative framework governing aquaculture in Egypt, with the General Authority for Fishery Resources Development (GAFRD), which is responsible for the regulation of the sector (Goulding & Kamel, 2013).

8.2.Nigeria

In Nigeria, aquaculture development has been driven by social and economic objectives, such as nutrition improvement in rural areas,generation of supplementary income, diversification of income activities, and the creation of employment (Anthony & Richard, 2016). Over the last 2 decades, federal government effort has been on artisanal fisheries development in Nigeria because the fisheries were known to contribute over 95% of the local fish production. The National Scheme(National Accelerated Fish Production Programme), which was introduced by the federal government through the Federal Department of Fisheries provides fishing inputs such as engines, gillnets, ropes, lead,and twines to fishermen with a 50% subsidy to assist them in attaining maximum capture efficiency (Mathiesen, 2015). The National Accelerated Fish Production Programme provides fishing inputs such as engines, gillnets, ropes, lead, and twines to fishermen (Anthony & Richard,2016).

Nigeria is among the largest fish consumers in the world, with over 1.5 million tons offish consumed annually, of which over 900,000 metric tons are imported, while its domestic fish catch is estimated at 450,000 metric tons/year. This huge gap in the production offish serves as a motivation for the government and the private sector to put in measures to increase domestic production. This situation has ensured some form of a boost in the aquaculture industry. There are huge prospects and potential for the growth of the Nigerian aquaculture sector, as there are numerous freshwater lakes, rivers, reservoirs, dams,free-flowing boreholes floodplains, etc. available for fish production(Agbelege & Olarewaju, 2010).

It has been projected that Nigeria needs an average annual increase of 3.8% in fish production to keep up with the demands of an everincreasing population. This might lead to increased production of African catfish in the country because of relatively good knowledge regarding their culture techniques and high market demands. The demand and market price for catfish are higher than those for tilapia or carps (Dauda et al., 2018).

Nigeria is often called the land of aquatic splendor. It has networks of abundant natural water resources vis-`a-vis rivers, lagoons, creeks,streams,flood plains, and coastal waters constituting approximately 25% of the total landmass of the country. These resources, in addition to 47, 877 ha of swamps are potential biomes for fish farming (Ahmad &Ibrahim, 2016). Nigeria is blessed with over 12.5 million hectares of water surface which a good percentage could be put to use for aquaculture and development (Udo & Dickson, 2017).

Nigeria has what it takes in terms of resources to compete with world-leading aquaculture nations. Some of these potentials include more than 260 medium and large dams. These dams have a combined storage capacity above 30 billion cubic meters of water. The dams can be used for cage and pen aquaculture. More than 850 km of coastline and maritime water of 210,900 km2 including the Exclusive Economic Zone,a narrow continental shelves extending, for only about 15 km in the western area and ranges from 60 to 80 km in the eastern tip. This condition limits the trawl-able grounds to 3200nm2 of the 1147nm2 continental shelf area. The inshore waters (0–50 m) are characterized by a variety of small fish species varying from 25 to 50 cm in total length(Akinsorotan, Akinsorotan, Jimoh, Adene, & Akiwowo, 2019).

9.Conclusion

Fish have been identified as a source of inexpensive protein for the nutritional benefit of human beings. Fish production can lead to poverty reduction and ensure food security. The traditional practice of growing fish in the wild has proven to be inadequate and is faced with a lot of challenges, among which is low catch. Therefore, aquaculture can be a solution to the world’s dwindling fish production. Egypt and Nigeria are the first and second-largest producers offish in Africa, respectively.These countries have put in measures to boost their aquaculture sectors,and there are a lot of potential and prospects in the industry, even though they are still battling to deal with the numerous constraints affecting the aquaculture industry.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Oliver Kaleem: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Validation, Visualization. Abudou-Fadel Bio Singou Sabi:Writing - review & editing, Project administration.

Declaration of competing interest

None.

Acknowledgment

We acknowledge the contribution of Mr. Issa Yacouba, Vice Director of Fishery and Aquaculture of Niger, who doubles as our Fishery and Aquaculture course tutor for the integrated master program in Sustainable Rural Transformation for proofreading the article.