ISSN: 2577-4050
Authors: Temegne NC* and Momo NJ
Aquaculture in the form of fish farming was introduced in Cameroon in 1948. But, it still remains marginal. The population's demand is estimated at more than 400,000 tones, but production is still insufficient to meet this demand. Indeed, the contribution of fisheries and aquaculture is less than 1% of GDP and those of aquaculture less than 0.1%. However, aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector in the world. Research being the basis and the backbone of development, this review is an inventory of works of aquaculture research in Cameroon. To the most popular species (common carp, North African catfish and tilapia) is added today a dozen of endemic species. The research has been concerned in recent years with fry production, nutrition, composition, domestication of fish and also their parasites.Important work have also been done on the intensification of fish farming, the use of agricultural by-products in aquaculture, the promotion of integrated aquaculture and on the potential negative impacts of fish farming on the prevalence of diseases and on the environment. It also placed particular emphasis on the constraints of fish farming in Cameroon, particularly on the difficulty of adoption of new farming innovations, the relative profitability of fish farming, the need for support to fish farmers, the relation research-farmer, the financing of fish farming, and many other constraints. This basic work already done by research can be improved. It will thus be able to contribute in reducing the large deficit of Cameroonian aquaculture production.
Keywords: Cameroon; Fingerlings; Fish Farming Research; Ponds; Production Constraints