Sustainability and income opportunities of farming milkfish (Chanos chanos) to local communities in Kenya: assessment of initial trials of earthen ponds.

This case study documents the development of earthen pond mariculture from the late 1980s to 2009 in Kenya and prospects of community milkfish (Chanos chanos) culture using satellite farmers along the coast of Kenya, as well as challenges to this kind of farming and approaches towards sustainability. Pond mariculture was started in the 1980s by the Kenyan Fisheries Department through the onset of prawn farming (Penaeus indicus and P. monodon) in large scale demonstration ponds at Ngomeni under funding from FAO. The total culture area was estimated at 60 ha and milkfish occurred as a by-product of the prawn culture operations with indications of good growth. Similar observations were made for the milkfish in the artisanal Kwetu prawn culture pond (0.8 ha) that was started in the late 1990s, and one individual middle-scale farmer in Mtwapa creek (Wampare) who had interest in prawn culture at the time and constructed ponds covering an area of 3 ha. The initial recommendations for the potential to culture milkfish in Kenya were made through a research project (Mwaluma, 2002) whose objectives were to assess the potential of mud crab (Scylla serrata) pen culture in natural mangrove channels at Mtwapa creek. Intense participatory research into potential for milkfish culture coupled with extension was initiated at the Kwetu Training Centre along the Kenya coast with satellite groups in 2004. Consequently, improvements have since been achieved with wild seed collection in mangrove pools, use of chicken manure as organic pond fertilizer, and dependency of tidal water exchange, which has led to a maximum growth rate of 1.2 g/day. The demand for milkfish production has increased greatly among the coastal poor (Mirera, 2009b) and presently (Sept 2009) five communities have constructed more than 25 milkfish production ponds with a maximum production capacity of more than 70 kg per crop. These farmers have appreciated the contribution of milkfish culture to achieving food security and income generation for their families. The first harvest of milkfish in the community ponds were bought by the research/extension officer, and were fried and eaten together by all members of the community (including none group members) to demonstrate that milkfish can grow under local culture conditions. In subsequent harvests, the whole community is informed a day before the harvest, whereby they come to the farms during harvesting and buy the fish in quotas at two dollars per kg.