OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF AFRICAN CATFISH HATCHERIES UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Operational characteristics as influenced by management systems are crucial to the sustainability of fish seed production industry. However, there is a dearth of technical information on the characteristics and financial performance of most fish hatcheries in Nigeria. There is, therefore, a need to provide this information to properly guide existing operators and the will-be investors on operational features that will ensure sustainability of fish seed production in Nigeria. The study was, therefore, carried out to compare and understand the performance of different fish seed production management systems in Ibadan, Nigeria. A survey of 51 registered and operational hatcheries employing flow-through (FL), recirculating cum flow-through (RCFL) and recirculating systems (RC), in the eleven Local government areas of Ibadan metropolis was carried out between April and May, 2017. Technical information was sourced using structured questionnaire. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA with means separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The study showed that the average African Catfish hatchery production was 4.90 million seed per year as computed from the mean from the three systems (2.29 million, 2.63 million and 9.79 million for RC, RCFL and FL systems, respectively). On average, 64.6% of hatchery production was sold as fingerlings (5cm), while 35.4% of seed production was sold as juveniles (8 -15cm). Total costs and total revenues in FL hatcheries (N21.38 million and N86.09 million, respectively) were highest and least values (N5.62 million and N22.72 million, respectively) were recorded in RC hatcheries. Net profits were significantly higher in FL systems (79.6% of sales) and RC systems (79.2% of sales), than RCFL (67.7% of sales) and. A 50% reduction in seed price and 75% increase in operating costs resulted in losses only in RCFL system. Main challenges of hatchery operation were price fluctuation, a high cost of power and availability of high-quality broodstock, among other factors. Flow-through culture system is mostly adopted in Ibadan, South-western Nigeria and gave the highest net profit as a percentage of sales, but profit was marginally higher than the result from the recirculating system.