Fish farms provide high protein food source while conserving biodiversity of Lake Mai Ndombe

05 Jan 2023
Fish farms provide high protein food source while conserving biodiversity of Lake Mai Ndombe

Farming of fish is not traditionally undertaken by the local communities. Whilst some villages are home to fisherman, they predominantly use the wild caught method and as such, aquaculture is a very new concept. Unfortunately, traditional wild caught fishing has proved to be unsustainable in the Mai Ndombe region, leading to depletion of the wild populations as a result of over-fishing. To sustain their food supply and potential income, the local communities have decided to continue to utilize their carbon offset revenue share towards expanding and transforming the fishpond initiatives. Tilapias have already been introduced, and community members are also exploring the introduction of catfish into the aquaculture system as they have high potential for production and are very easy to manage and ultimately harvest. Completed aquaculture activities highlighted are third-party verified as of December 2021.