The government has decided to invest in aquaculture as it will generate sustainable employment whilst also helping to reduce the country's import bill, reports GuardianMedia.
At present, said Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj, "approximately 75 per cent of fish farmers can be considered to be subsistence or backyard farmers who, for a number of reasons, are unable to achieve economies of scale and hence commercial and economic viability.”
The Aquaculture Demonstration Centre will therefore be used for training, field testing and demonstrations, to further aid the development of the sector.
The facilities, will be completed over a period of three years, and will include a training room with facilities to accommodate at least 50 people at a time; small-scale and a medium-scale commercial green water re-circulating aquaculture system; raceway-type recirculating fish rearing system; deep water recirculating fish-rearing system; a laboratory area for handling and examination of fishes; and breeding systems and fingerling production for tilapia and cascadura.
