No formal conclusions were adopted by the meeting, but there was a consensus on the following points:
Fisheries research and extension in Zimbabwe need streamlining. There should be better co-operation and coordination among various agencies concerned with the subject to avoid duplication of effort, ensure higher productivity and facilitate better access to the pool of knowledge and information that is available in the country.
An annotated bibliography should be prepared and published of literature on fisheries and aquaculture about Zimbabwe. This bibliography will put together in a single document basic data about literature on fisheries and aquaculture --titles, authors' names, subject, year of publication etc. --relating to books, pamphlets, journals, and articles prepared by various organizations in Zimbabwe and abroad over the years.
As an important next step, a literature review -- a descriptive assessment of the literature mentioned above --should be prepared and published.
The following other ideas and suggestions also emanated from the round-table meeting. They concerned three types of issues: research; extension and training; production.
Ideas concerning research issues:
-- Subjects that require research cover a wide spectrum (see papers presented at the Round Table Meeting, pages 16–43). They relate to species selection for ponds, pond ecology, fry production, production inputs, management for production, aquaculture and farming systems.
Though many of these subjects have already been researched and the results are available, such results are not definitive. Contradictory results are sometimes obtained. This is inevitable when physical research conditions and locations vary. It is important that research effort should continue. It is an ongoing need for adopting new techniques and modifying old ones.
-- In view of the importance of catfish for the future of aquaculture in Africa, there is need for research on catfish and for a catfish unit that can produce fry for small-scale farmers.
-- Useful subjects for investigation: a marketing study on the distribution of kapenta from Lake Kariba; problems of fish disease in communal areas.
Ideas concerning extension and training:
-- Training opportunities in fish farming need to be upgraded. There is good scope for educational video films in this context. A representative of the firm Edgro offered the facilities of the company's 110-acre farm for a film on semi-intensive fish farming.
-- A useful channel for technology transfer could be from the private sector to Agritex and from Agritex to rural fish farmers.
-- Those concerned with aquaculture research should study the useful crop of socio-economic information that is currently being generated on small-scale fish farming in southern Africa as a result of the Agritex survey in two districts of Zimbabwe, ALCOM's three exhaustive surveys in Zambia and ICLARM's exercise in Malawi.
-- The once-a-month “field day” which the Henderson research station used to organize was a useful exercise. Fisheries stations in Zimbabwe should consider organizing similar “field days”.
-- Meritorious candidates should be allowed to avail themselves of scholarships for advanced study in fisheries.
Ideas concerning production
-- Fish feeds presently available in Zimbabwe -- from animal wastes, crop residues and commercial feeds -- must be evaluated.
-- There is a serious need for a hatchery-cum-research station that will undertake commercial supply of seedstock, broodstock or fingerlings of any species. A good market exists, and presents an investment opportunity for the government, NGOs and individual entrepreneurs.
-- Areas of good water supply should be identified and land-owners in these areas may be encouraged to take up fish farming.
Communication and linkages
The meeting came up with the following suggestions to improve communication and better linkages among those concerned with fisheries and aquaculture:
-- Timely publication of research studies is essential but problematic. Sometimes a paper takes years to see the light of day. ALCOM has offered to publish initial research findings from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management. The journal Zimbabwe Science News is a good outlet for publication of research results.
-- The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management should convene a follow-up meeting on aquaculture research in co-operation with Agritex. The need for commercial fish producers and small producers from communal areas attending such meetings was emphasized.
-- There is a need for three types of meetings in future:
Technical meetings among representatives of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Agritex and the University of Zimbabwe;
Commercial meetings among fish farm producers, with scientists attending.
Extension-research meetings between Agritex and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management.
-- The “Fish Forum” - a meeting of officials, scientists and fish farmers convened by Agritex in 1986 and 1987 -- was a very useful exercise and should be revived. It enabled exchange of scientific knowledge and discussion of fish farmers' problems.
Agritex proposes to convene a fish forum again during the second half of 1992.
-- A fish farmers' association should be set up.
