1. No market:
Bad fish farmers start looking for a market for their fish when the fish are ready for sale. Meanwhile, because they
are still feeding, the pond attains its maximum loading and
fish stop growing.
The longer the fish stay in the pond after
they have stopped growing, the smaller the profit margin.
2. Poor farm siting:
Such as in a place with inadequate water supply, poor soils
for pond construction (e.g. may be rocky), far away from
markets and/or supplies, etc.
3. Poor farm and facility design:
Pond dikes not compacted
properly, leak a lot, may be too shallow, and consequently
construction and maintenance costs become too high while
optimum yields are not achieved.
Poor accessibility to
ponds, requiring workers to walk across difficult terrain to
transfer fish from pond to vehicle or vice-versa.
4. Poor investment plan:
Several farmers assume that to be a commercial fish farmer
one must have several large ponds. Hence, they construct
many ponds at once, which constrains their cash flow.
Because of this, some farmers take a while to start
production or may only afford to start production in one
pond after all the investment.
5. Lack of technical knowledge:
Start production before knowing what management options
are available or how to farm fish.
6. Do not employ right people:
Entrepreneurs employ the right people who are qualified for
a specific job. Hiring family members who have little or no
desire to learn proper fish farming techniques is a liability
because most people find it difficult to dismiss them even
after it has become apparent that they are the reason for
the poor performance of the fish farm.
7. Absentee owners/managers:
Manage farms by remote control or telephone. No direct
involvement in production and management activities of the
farm.
8. Irregular and improper feeding:
This ranges from complete lack of knowledge about the
nutritional requirements and feeding of catfish to attempts
at saving money by using cheap feeds. Some farmers just do
not feed their fish because they think fish will grow as long
as they are in water. They do not realize that like all animals,
best performance would be obtained if the fish have a
balanced diet and that the feed needs to be palatable, easily
digestible and does not disintegrate into the water before
the fish can consume it. Fish should be fed with the correct
feed of the right quality by a conscientious person who is
aware that fish should be fed according to feeding response.
Fish may not always feed with the same intensity. They may
not want to consume much in bad weather or with a sudden
change in temperature; fish may also not eat when they are
sick.
9. Fail to use the best person for feeding:
The person feeding fish should be conscientious and keen to
observe the fish and know their habits. Feed is not to be
dumped into ponds or tanks, but fed according to the fishes
feeding response. Feed is expensive (up to 60-70% of
operating cost) and only the best laborer can obtain a low
feed conversion and lowest cost.
10. Lack understanding of management:
Do not appreciate that different management levels have
different requirements which consequently affects stocking
rates. Stocking rates are a function of the specific
management regime.
11. Focus on few large fish rather than volume production:
Being more impressed with harvesting the few large fish
rather than looking at the overall picture and appreciating
total tonnage at harvest.
Survival rates and average fish size
matter when raising table-fish, because profit margins above
operational costs generally range between 10 to 30%
depending on one’s market. The net income is therefore
largely a function of turnover.
12. Do not keep records and do not assess performance to
re-adjust management practices accordingly after each
cycle:
A farmer is therefore unable to tell whether a profit or
loss will have been made. Having money in one’s pocket
after a sale does not imply one has made a profit.
Records
must be kept on all aspects of management to help the
farmer evaluate and correct his/her management practices,
for improving production and putting together a business
plan.
13. Hobby farmers who fail to harvest at the correct time, as
though they are taking care of wild-life in a game park.
14. Wrong objectives for investing in aquaculture:
Some do it simply because their friends are doing it or
because they are targeting ‘free’ funds from donors or
government. Nothing in this world is free. Always watch out
for the hidden costs before making a final decision.
Furthermore, pond or tank construction is costly and is not
something one should undertake for the sake of it. Think
objectively before you embark on fish farming. Farm fish as
a business; as a source of employment and income for
yourself and others.
Invest in fish farming only if you have
studied it and understand the challenges.
15. Expand the farm as a solution to low profit and yields. It
is a bad business decision to expand a failing business
without first finding out what the causes of the failure are
and correcting them.
16. Believe consultants and newspaper reports that indicate
fish farming requires little investment and results in huge
profit. However huge profits can only be achieved with the
right work force on board.
Author: Unknown
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