Pen Culture of the Black-Chinned Tilapia, <i>Sarotherodon Melanotheron</i> in the Aglor Lagoon in Ghana

Abstract

Pen-fish-culture as a culture-based fisheries approach was investigated in the Aglor Lagoon from December 2003 to June, 2004. The fish used in the study was the Black-chinned tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron. The growth performance of S. melanotheron cultured for six months in the Aglor Lagoon under three different treatments were monitored. In the first treatment, the cultured fish was fed with a feed of 29.80 % protein at 3 % body weight once a day. In the second treatment, bamboo was stacked at a density of 6 per metre square in pens to serve as substrate for periphyton growth and development. In the third treatment, there was no feeding (control). There was significant difference in growth between the fed and the unfed S. melanotheron in the pens, with no significant difference in growth between the fish that subsisted on periphyton de-veloped on bamboo and the other treatments. S. melanotheron cultured in the bamboo equipped pens had the best condition factor of 3.57 ± 0.23. The experimental values of b obtained from the length-weight relationship (W = aLb) for the three treatments were 2.07, 2.13 and 2.80 for feeding, unfed and bamboo respectively. From the results, the least yield was obtained from the unfed control pen (0.045 kg/m2), whilst the highest was from the bamboo equipped pens (0.183 kg/m2).