The culture of Catfish in Nigeria: Progress, prospects and problems

Abstract

A review of the culture of catfish of the family Claridae in Nigeria was carried out using secondary data.
The story of aquaculture in Nigeria is essentially the story of catfish culture. The favoured catfish
species include: Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis, Clarias × Heterobranchus hybrid
(‘Heteroclarias’) and Clarias nigrodigitatus. C. gariepinus and Heterobranchus are the most farmed fish
in Nigeria. Catfish farming has continued to attract private sector initiative compared to earlier public or
government-sponsored programmes. If the associated problems of production, especially the twin
issue of feed production and fingerling supply are tackled, Nigeria will soon become a world exporter of
catfish.