By JACK MWEWA –
KAMBASHI Bream Fisheries will next month harvest 10,000 of bream fish stocks from its breeding and production ponds on Chilubi Island in Northern Province.
Kambashi co-director Charles Chilinda said in an interview this week that the company whose initial harvest was 9, 000 last year had since bred enough fish from their 32 ponds set off the shores of Lake Bangweulu.
“Kambashi has so far, bred enough fish that could count to 10,000 which we intend to harvest next month, this is an increase from the previous 9,000 we harvested last year,” Fr Chilinda said.
He said with the pricing pegged at K13 per kilogramme, both local and urban markets would benefit, more especially during the fish ban period.
Fr Chilinda said Kambashi’s initial 9,000 fish harvest could not reach the urban market as the local community demand was overwhelming.
“Our first harvest could not reach the urban market as local demand was overwhelming, we ended up selling all the 9000 fish to the local community,” he said.
Fr Chilinda said Kambashi was initiated in 2012, as a way of encouraging fishermen to grow their own fish by breeding indigenous fingerlings to address the depleted national fish stoke.
He said breeding fish was also a sure way of serving the increased national demand for fish and could further curb illegal fishing during the period of ban.
Kambashi Bream Fisheries has created 25 permanent jobs and was collaborating with Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to breed indigenous fish species.
Zambia currently has a fish deficit of around 50,000 tonnes while annual fish production stood at 70, 000 tonnes and national demand was estimated around 120, 000 tonnes.
The current estimates for annual fish production is about 70,000 tonnes, while the estimated national.