31 May 2016

With fears of depleting fish stocks in Chobe River, an aquaculture fish farm in Chobe district could not have come at an opportune time.

Opening of such a business in a district synonymous with fishing naturally left some fishermen uneasy as fish farming or aquaculture is a relatively new concept to Chobe, much less Botswana. 

The South African owners, Mr Pieter and Ms Rici van Graan are well aware of this as the duo started Chobe Bream fish farm three years ago, acquiring female and male tilapia fish (bream) from Kachikau village.

“We heard that the local fishermen were worried that we were going to kill their industry, but the truth is that demand for fish is so unlimited that we cannot be seen to be competing with them,” explained Ms van Graan.

She added that they would be looking into exporting to neighbouring countries like Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Zimbabwe where demand is high.

She said it will take place once production reaches a capacity of 35 000 fish per month, saying currently they stand at 20 000 fish per month.

Demand for fish in Botswana is 4 000 tonnes annually but supply is currently 300, Ms van Graan explained.

“We have had one gentleman from Zimbabwe interested in buying all the stock we have in our farming, but we had to decline as we still cannot meet demand here in Botswana,” she revealed.

Currently they supply retailers and individuals and her message to Chobe community is that they are welcome to come through and buy or appreciate the facilities. 

For them, Chobe was ideal as it is strategically placed as a gateway to the rest of Africa, providing a great opportunity for exporting. Ends