article · Sustainable Aquatic Research
Per capita fish consumption in Kenya remains well below the global average, driven in part by cold highland climates that hinder traditional pond fish farming. An evaluation in Limuru, located at an altitude of 2,500 metres, compared tilapia production in a stand-alone recirculating aquaculture system known as the FisHub model against a conventional earthen pond over a sixty-day trial. Culturing all-male Oreochromis niloticus fingerlings revealed that the recirculating system yielded substantially superior biological and feed performance. Productivity reached 13.3 kilograms per cubic metre in the closed system compared to 0.8 kilograms per cubic metre in the pond. Fish in the recirculating unit grew at 2.2 grams per day with a food conversion ratio of 1.0, whereas pond fish managed 0.84 grams per day. Statistical modelling identified morning dissolved oxygen, morning temperature, and pH as primary drivers of productivity.
Kenya faces a fish supply deficit, with domestic consumption lagging far behind global averages because cold highland regions impede traditional pond culture. Demonstrating that recirculating aquaculture systems can sustain high yields and efficient feed conversion in high-altitude environments unlocks previously unsuitable agricultural areas, providing a viable method to strengthen domestic fish supply and improve regional food security.
The FisHub model represents an applied and tested system suitable for commercial fish farmers, agricultural enterprises, and regional aquaculture ventures in cold highlands. By overcoming local climate constraints to deliver high yields and strong feed efficiency, it provides a near-market technological solution for highland tilapia production, provided producers can manage the critical operational requirements of monitoring morning oxygen, temperature, and pH.
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Kenya's per capita fish consumption of 4.5 kg/year is well below the global average of 20.3 kg, partly due to the unsuitability of cold highland regions for conventional pond aquaculture. This study evaluated the production efficiency of a stand-alone Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS); the FisHub model, compared to an earthen pond under cold highland conditions in Limuru, Kenya (annual mean temperature: 19°C; altitude: 2,500 m asl). All-male Oreochromis niloticusfingerlings (25 ± 0.5 g) were cultured for 60 days in the FisHub RAS (50 m³, 120 fish/m³) and an earthen pond (300 m3, 3 fish/m2). Productivity in the FisHubwas significantly higher (13.3kg/m³ as compared to 0.8 kg/m³; Mann-Whitney U, p < 0.01), with daily growth rates of 2.2 and 0.84 g/day, and food conversion ratios of 1.0 and 2.1, respectively. Multiple linear regression identified morning dissolved oxygen(p < 0.01), morning temperature (p = 0.042), and pH (p = 0.039) as significant productivity determinants. These results demonstrate that stand-alone RAS can overcome the temperature and oxygen constraints limiting conventional aquaculture in cold highlandenvironments, offering a viable pathway to increase Kenya's domestic fish production.
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DOI: 10.65869/sar.v5.i2.157
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