itself, sufficient atention needs to be paid to meet- ing the quality standards required for achieving the growth in exports needed to drive the future growth of the aquaculture sector in Africa. Egypt is a good example of a country that, despite offer- ing strong policy support to its aquaculture sector, saw its development of exports of sea bream and sea bass significantly hindered by its inability to conform to the European market’s phytosanitary standards.17 While some countries might face constraints in
adopting more capital-intensive types of aquaculture, there are places, such as in Africa south of the Sahara, that are home to aquaculture much lower in capital intensity. Certain types of aquaculture, like tilapia, can be low in capital intensity and relatively acces- sible for nascent sectors to produce, compared with higher-intensity species, like salmon. Under certain circumstances and with the right choice of species, aquaculture can become the most efficient way of producing animal protein.18 Several key species of fish (including carp) can be produced with minimal inputs, while even species that use modest quantities of fishmeal can yield significant amounts of protein and valuable faty acids for human nutrition. As such, aquaculture products can be very nutritious and affordable, especially in combination with small, native species that can be eaten whole—such as the dagaa species of the Lake Victoria region. Tat aquaculture development and expansion are
well within the capacity for developing countries is demonstrated by the past success of aquaculture in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central America. Given certain investments and an enabling policy environment, a similar success story should also be possible in Africa south of the Sahara—with key countries like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa being possible leaders in that trend. A key factor for success is the selection of the
right species to grow. Tis includes considerations of the optimal mix of feed intensity, yield, disease resis- tance, and ease of obtaining fingerling stock. Given the relatively high transportation costs that Afri- can producers will continue to face relative to their Asian competitors, it is likely that the aquaculture sector in Africa will focus on high-value species and those with high value added to the economy.19
To support this goal, policymakers need to
encourage the flow of outside capital into the sector. Tis is necessary for establishing large-scale oper- ations with the appropriate technologies for feed and disease management. Tere is also the need for a dedicated aquaculture bureau or ministry to help coordinate investments, finance, and regulations with other parts of national policy. Te efficacy of this approach has been demonstrated in Madagas- car, which has been successful in atracting inves- tors to its shrimp sector. South Africa’s commitment to supporting aquaculture is another example to follow: it established an aquaculture park to atract foreign investors, an approach modeled on the ded- icated aquaculture zones set up in Asia to concen- trate investment and facilitate technical outreach and uptake.
That aquaculture development and expansion are well within the capacity for developing countries is demonstrated by the past success of aquaculture in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central America.
Aside from addressing the lack of investment in
the aquaculture sector, there is also a strong need for policy and regulatory reforms in the oceans that harbor Africa’s capture fisheries—the region’s main fish supply. Te encroachment of foreign fleets into the coastal waters of African countries inhibits the full potential of capture fisheries in the region. Tis is because these fishing zones suffer the same open-access and unregulated overexploitation of fish stocks that plagued many of the world’s fisheries prior to the stabilization that tradable quota schemes and other policy measures brought to the Atlantic and Pacific waters. Some studies identify African coastal waters as the regions with some of the largest decreases in catch, noting the large uncertainties over the actual state of the fish stocks.
THE RISE OF AQUACULTURE 69
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