Livestock waste-menace: Fish wealth-solution

Abstract

A review of the use of livestock wastes for sustainable fish wealth creation was done, using information from literature and data from field observation and experimentation. Livestock wastes including animal manure and poultry by-products, which are a menace to the environment, are sources of wealth creation in fish farming. In Nigeria, about 932.5 metric tonnes of manure is produced annually from the well established livestock industries which keep expanding at the rate of 8% year^-1. Nigeria is the largest importer of frozen fish in the world with a fish demand of between 106,200 - 128,052 metric tonnes year^-1. This situation calls for increased fish production which can be achieved through the effective utilization of livestock wastes. Properly treated animal manure can serve as organic fertilizer/feed component. Consequently, there is enhanced fish farming profitability, efficient resources utilization and conservation of environment due to waste management.

Key words: Wastes, manure, fish, plankton, livestock, fertilizer, feed