Specimens of Aquaculture from The Niger-Delta Region

Good morning dear friends, its a beautiful Sunday morning over here in Nigeria. This morning I'll be sharing with you in this article some basic information on some of the aquacultural specimens common to my geographical region of the Niger-Delta in Nigeria.

Aquaculture, the practice of farming edible aquatic species or harvesting same from their natural aquatic environment is deeply ingrained into the culture of the riverine peoples of the Niger-Delta. Aquaculture is a means of livelihood directly and indirectly for a sizable population of the Niger-Delta residents. Fish farmers number in their thousands and so do fishermen, fish traders and of course the millions of Niger-Delta people who feed on fishes and other edible aquatic species.

With regards to fish farming the most abundantly cultivated aquatic species are the catfish species, tilapia and crabs. The fisherman's harvest brings a broader species variety to the Nigerian fishmonger's kiosk. Edible aquatic specimens here include the river catfish species, tilapia, eels and lungfishes, red shrimps, crabs, crayfishes and some salt water species like the barracuda, skates and the ray fishes.

Due to the poor electricity supply in Nigeria, the harvested aquatic species are usually smoked dry to reduce body water content to prevent spoilage and prolong shelf life. The above original photo collage shows what aquacultural specimens from the NIGER-DELTA region looks like in a typical fish market setting. Fresh fishes are available in the markets mostly at the time of arrival of the fisherfolks. The main source of readily fresh fishes are the fish farmers whom have their merchandise fresh and alive in their fish ponds.

Two commonly consumed and readily available aquatic species are the small crayfish and dried river tilapia.
Small dried tilapia and dried crayfish.

They are actually a main part of the fisherman's harvest. They are also amongst the cheapest edible aquatic species in the NIGER-DELTA region. The small dried crayfish are usually grounded and added to soups for their enriching flavours which are a natural substitute for the factory made seasoning cubes. The dried tilapia are a good source of fish protein for poor families and they add a very rich piscean flavour to traditional cuisines.

I do hope you found my article on Specimens of Aquaculture from the NIGER-DELTA region interesting. Thanks for your time reading, bye for now as i wish you all a Happy Sunday.

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