why starting fish farming business
Before we talk about how to start fish farming business, let’s take a look at how the fish farming market is doing. In recent years, aquaculture has become a huge global industry and is to grow a further thirty percent by 2027, fish farming business is the fastest growing industry in the world.
Fish is low in cholesterol, rich in protein, tasty and healthy. As a result, there is a high demand for fish and fish-related products around the world. Aquaculture plays an important role in the economy. It provides a large number of employment opportunities in the restaurant and service industries.
Fish Farming Market Growth: India’s Example
In 2017, the Indian fish market is valued at Rs. 1004 crores. According to estimates by fisheries experts, the fish farming business will rapidly expand to a value of 18,210 Crores by 2023.
This is about six percent of the world’s fish production and today India remains one of the largest fish producers in the world. In the United States, according to a study, more than 6 million pounds of fish were consumed in 2019. Therefore, fish farming business is profitable.
Profitability and Global Reach of Fish Farming Business
As it is profitable to start fish farming business, you can start fish farming business in anywhere like in India, in Ghana, in Nigeria, in Philippines, in South Africa, in Pakistan, no matter where you are in, you would get profit from fish farming business, but before starting fish farming business, you have to make a best fish farming business plan, Here we talk about some advice on how to start a fish farming business.
video of fish feed mill factory for fish farming business
what is fish farming
according to wikipedia, Fish farming or fish farming involves the commercial raising of fish in ponds or artificial enclosures (e.g. fish ponds), usually for food. Aquaculturists engage in a special type of aquaculture, wherein they culture and harvest aquatic animals, such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc., in a controlled manner within a natural or pseudo-natural environment.
These facilities, often termed fish hatcheries, release juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to replenish the natural population of a species. Worldwide, the most important fish species produced by fish farming are carp, catfish, salmon and tilapia.
how to start fish farming business plan
Be sure to consider traffic and power
traffic is the key factor of how to start fish farming business, you should at first consider traffic problem when you would like to start fish farming business plan, when traffic is poor, transporting feed, selling fish, buying fry, etc. can cause great difficulties.
If there’s no easily passable road, one should carefully consider whether to build fish ponds in this place.
Additionally, electricity is necessary. Currently, aquaculturists generally employ the high-density culture mode, with pumps playing a crucial role in the culture process. These pumps facilitate changing or adding water to the pond, making a stable voltage connection to electricity essential; otherwise, these pumps will easily burn out.
be sure to Consider water sources
water quality is the key to success or failure in how to start fish farming business, a good water source plays a decisive role in the success of subsequent breeding. For the water source, it is best to choose unpolluted or less polluted water as the water source. The amount of water in the fish pond must be sufficient all year round, otherwise it will affect the normal fish farming business. in our another post, we introduced how to improve pond water quality.
confirming types of fish farming
what types of fish farming to start is also important to consider in fish farming business plan. there are two types of aquaculture: brackish water aquaculture and freshwater aquaculture. In freshwater aquaculture, farmers breed freshwater fish such as katla, magur, rohu, and carp. It’s essential to determine which type of fish to feed when establishing a fish farming business.
building fish pond
Aquaculture practitioners often experience that a well-designed fish pond can save resources during fish farming and usually lead to smoother operations, sometimes reducing production costs. Therefore, it’s crucial to plan fish ponds before starting fish farming, and repairs should be based on the species being raised.
In addition to leveling the fish pond, it is best to maintain at least 2.5 meters of water depth in the pond. In addition, make the road next to the pond as wide as possible. It is also easier to drive to the fish pond when selling fish. It is better to build drainage system and water injection system separately (drainage and water injection should not share the same pipe).
If using river or lake water, it’s essential to repair the inlet upstream and ensure it’s located more than 50 meters away from the outlet of the fish pond. This practice benefits water quality management and helps prevent fish diseases.
preparing equipment for fish farming
Pump
When starting a fish farming business, it’s necessary to prepare a pump. In traditional aquaculture, farmers keep fish in water-filled tanks or cages. During warmer months, water evaporation reduces the water level in the pond. To ensure sufficient fresh water for the fish, you can use a pump to pump fresh water from a large nearby water source to the small pond or lake where you keep the fish.
Back-up generators
A backup generator is important when you set up fish farming business because a power outage means a failure of the oxygen system, which in a crowded pond can cause fish to die from lack of oxygen in a matter of minutes.
Grading Equipment
A classifier can classify the fish into different classes. This link also enables counting the fish using a counting device. A transit tanker equipped with a special oxygen machine transports the selected fish to the market.
Learn skills of Fish Farming
When starting a fish farming business, it is important to have some fish farming skills. Skills can be learned by working on a successful farm. It teaches you how to deal with diseases, manage water quality, market conditions, and feed processing. There are also government-run farms that are running training programs. You can take these types of courses to gain skills before to start fish farming business.
how profitable is fish farming business
It is not easy to answer the question of how profitable is fish farming business in the first place. The most important thing is how to do it, where to do it, and how big it is. Let’s put it this way, if you sell freshwater fish in a small market stall, you can earn two or three thousand dollars a month.
if you are in the seafood market, or some big city markets, you do more high-end aquatic business, it is possible to earn tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.
Factors Affecting Profitability in Fish Farming Business
Generally speaking, the profit of doing fish farming business is still relatively high, especially selling seafood. However, the requirements of storage, transportation and sales channels for production and operation are relatively high, because only good storage and transportation can ensure the freshness of the product. There are many channels to sell a good price.
Profit Potential in Different Market Segments of Fish Farming Industry
In fact, the profit of different products in aquatic products varies greatly. The profit of ordinary freshwater fish and shrimp is only 10-20% because they can be raised anywhere, and the farming techniques for them are relatively simple, resulting in relatively average meat quality. At the same time, because freshwater fish and shrimp are not as easy to die as fish and shrimp in the sea, their prices are not expensive, and naturally, profits are not high.
Varied Profit Margins Across Aquatic Products
And those more expensive seafood products are more profitable, basically can reach 30%-50% profit, or even higher. For example, some large lobsters and expensive seafood, each can be sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The profit from this is thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. The reason for the high profit of seafood products is due to the inconvenience of transportation, things are rare, the quality is really good, so it is normal to be expensive and understandable to earn more money.
what should be paid attention to
In the fish farming business, there are many things to pay attention to. Generally speaking, operating aquaculture still requires a lot of aquaculture knowledge, because unlike other products, aquatic products are special in that they are alive, not resistant to transportation, not resistant to maintenance, and prone to death.
If it has no value, it cannot be sold at a price, which may result in a loss or no profit. Therefore, it is very important to have excellent breeding techniques. Another thing is the sales channel, with a good sales channel is more than half of the success.