Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with more than 215 million inhabitants, is at the same time the largest fish consumer in Africa, with a consumption of 3.2 million tons of fish annually. Fish accounts for 40% of the consumed protein in the country, with an approximate consumption of 13.3 kg per person and per year.

About 45% of the consumed fish is imported from other countries, which means a trade deficit of 1,000 million USD per year. Aquaculture is the viable alternative to meet the domestic demand for fish.

Nigeria is the main aquaculture producer in sub-Saharan Africa, with the 52% of production, and the second largest producer in the entire African continent, only behind Egypt. Aquaculture production in Nigeria has experienced a growth of 12% in the last 35 years, although this growth has slowed in recent years.

Aquaculture in Nigeria is mostly extensive inland aquaculture. The annual aquaculture production is 313,000 tons, with catfish and tilapia being the most produced species.

Table 1. Main aquaculture species produced in Nigeria

For aquaculture production to meet national demand for fish, it is necessary to transform the extensive, small-scale aquaculture, which is currently the majority in the country, into intensive aquaculture. This requires qualified technical personnel, renovation of facilities, feed with a higher degree of technification, along with the use of highly selected strains.

 In this regard, and in order to promote the productivity of tilapia farms, a large number of projects are being launched to provide farmed tilapia fry to the aquaculture industry in Nigeria.

GIFT tilapias are tilapia strains selected through a selective breeding program of several Nile tilapia strains. These tilapias are more resistant to environmental conditions and provide a higher productive performance, which can overtake local strains by up to 40%.

Intensive aquaculture production generates new challenges that must be considered. Among these productive challenges, it is worth highlighting the stress generated in the fish in these culture systems. The most important stressors are mainly caused by routine handling tasks, such as tank cleaning, fish vaccination and classification, as well as animal transportation.

Stress has a direct effect on the productive parameters of animals, decreasing feed intake, animal growth, as well as an indirect effect, since immunosuppression associated with stress increases the prevalence of different diseases on farms.

In this sense, it is essential to add immunostimulant products of natural origin, such as immunostimulant pronutrients, which have proven their effectiveness in reducing mortality associated with vaccination, under conditions of intensive tilapia breeding (image 1. and 2.)

Immunostimulant pronutrients are active molecules of botanical origin that strengthen the immune system of fish, preventing the negative effects of stress. These molecules of natural origin do not generate bacterial resistance, do not require a withdrawal period, do not leave residues in meat, nor do they have an impact on the aquaculture ecosystem.