ISSN 2348-313X (Print) International Journal of Life Sciences Research ISSN 2348-3148 (online) Vol. 9, Issue 3, pp: (33-38), Month: July - September 2021, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Comparative analysis of the sanitation labour costs and benefits associated with the use of different first feeds in Clarias gariepinus nursery Okeke Patrick A1, Evulobi Onyedikachi O.C1., Amuneke Kennedy E1 Affiliations: 1Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. Corresponding authors contact: oc.evulobi@unizik.edu.ng . 2347036775852.
Abstract: Understanding the costs associated with the use of different first feeds is very essential in making choice of the appropriate larval feed to use post-endogenous feeding. A study was conducted to determine and compare the cost of sanitation labour for different larval first feeds: yeast-fed rotifer, algae-fed rotifer, whole-chicken egg and shell-free Artemia. The daily sanitation time was recorded in each case and the cost of sanitation labour was determined. A cost-benefit analysis was also carried out based on the collected data. The results indicated that the first feed chosen affected the time spent in sanitation and allied cost of labour. Mean daily sanitation time recorded was 1043±34.37, 1204.8±24.20, 1022±31.95 and 2348±49.65 seconds for yeast-fed rotifer, algae-fed rotifer, wholechicken egg and Artemia respectively. One-way analysis of variance on these showed there was a significant difference (P<0.05). The sanitation labour cost for the control treatment (shell-free Artemia) was slightly more than twice (N2607.20, $6.34) the cost of Yeast-fed rotifer (N1158.08, $2.81) and whole-chicken egg (N1134.88, $2.76) and almost twice that of algae-fed rotifer (N1336.96, $3.25). Whole-chicken egg was 56.47% less than the control while yeast-fed and algae-fed rotifer treatments were 55.59% and 48.72% less respectively, showing that the control treatment recorded higher costs than all the treatments. Cost-Benefit analysis indicated that there was loss in all the treatments: N 673.08 ($1.64), N361.96 ($0.88), N 1054.88 ($2.56) and N1737.2 ($4.22) for yeast-fed rotifer, algae-fed rotifer, whole-chicken egg and shell-free Artemia respectively. The study shows that sanitation labour for the control (shell-free Artemia) treatment costs more than yeast-fed rotifer, algae-fed rotifer, whole-chicken egg. It is recommended that more studies be conducted for field trial and optimization of algae-fed rotifer on Clarias gariepinus hatchlings. Keywords: Sanitation, Labour cost, Clarias gariepinus, First feed, nursery.
1. INTRODUCTION The production of fish per annum in Nigeria stands at about 1.0 million metric tonnes with capture fisheries accounting for 71% of the production while aquaculture takes the remaining 29%. The aquaculture sector in Nigeria employs more than 13,000 persons (Bradley et al., 2020). There has been an increase in the demand for catfish fingerlings due to recent government policies in favour of agriculture and allied areas. But hatcheries generally grapple with the challenge of low survival rates of their hatchlings either due to nutritional challenges and (or) poor management practices. It is in record that inadequate feeding and poor acceptance of feed is the source of mortality within the first month of the fry’s postendogenous feeding life (Ekelemu & Nwabueze, 2011). Foreign starter feeds for larvae, such as decapsulated Artemia eggs, are usually very exorbitant and the shelf-life are usually easily lowered when handled by unskilled hatchery staff or where there is lack of adequate facilities. In any case, shell-free Artemia has almost attained the position of serving as a reference first feed. It is imperative that cheaper and easily managed alternative sources like culture of live zooplankton
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