Niger Delta Fisherfolk Adopt Cage Fish Farming to Offset Declining Wild Catch

Fishing families across several creekside communities in Bayelsa and Rivers States are increasingly turning to floating cage fish farming to supplement wild catch that many say has shrunk sharply over the past decade due to pollution and overfishing.

Unlike pond aquaculture, cage systems are anchored directly in the creek, allowing fishing households to continue using waterways they already know while reducing dependence on increasingly unpredictable wild stocks. Extension workers from a state fisheries programme have been training interested households on stocking density, feeding schedules and disease management.

"Some weeks the creek gives us almost nothing anymore. The cages are something we can depend on," said one fisherman in a Southern Ijaw community who set up his first cage earlier this year with support from a cooperative loan.

Fisheries researchers say the approach shows promise as a transitional livelihood strategy but caution that feed costs remain a barrier for poorer households, and that cage systems still require access to relatively clean water to avoid stock losses during pollution events. State fisheries officials say they are exploring subsidised feed schemes to widen adoption among smallholder fishing families.