Abstract
In Uganda fish is a great source of animal dietary protein, however, natural stocks continue to decline. Therefore, aquaculture provides a viable option to bridge the increasing fish supply-demand gap. Accordingly, a study was conducted from March to August 2016 to investigate the effect of stocking density on the growth performance, and survival of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in floating net-cages to contribute to aquaculture production in Uganda. Nile tilapia fingerlings, with an average weight of 4.07 g were stocked in 8 m3 cages at three different stocking densities; 200, 250, and 300 fish/m3, and fed on a locally formulated commercial feed for 180 days. At the end of the experimental period, results showed that fish stocked at lower densities were heavier than those stocked at higher densities. The mean final weights of fish were; 150.79±85.71, 127.82±68.43 and 118.73±49.29 g in cages stocked with 200, 250 and 300 fish/m3, respectively. The mean final weight in lower density (200 fish /m3) treatments was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of higher density (300 fish/m3) treatments. The mean relative condition factor of fish ranged from 1.02 to 1.06, but was not significantly different (P>0.05) among the stocking densities. Survival rate and stocking density were negatively correlated. The best survival rate (94.19%) was obtained in low stocked cages (200 fish/m3) compared to 92.98% in highly stocked cages (300 fish/m3). The results of this study suggest that 200 fish/m3 of a cage, is the best stocking density in terms of fish growth parameters. Key words: Aquaculture, animal protein, per capita, livelihood, yield.  
Highlights
Fisheries and aquaculture play an important role as sources of food and income, and is critical in addressing global human food and nutrition insecurity, and economic demands (FAO, 2016)
In Uganda, this has been accompanied by a decline in per capita fish consumption to as low as 8 kg (MAAIF, 2017) which is below the 17 kg recommended by FAO (2012)
The site is well suited for cage culture of Nile tilapia, because it is partly sheltered with an average depth of 8 m, water flow rate of 48 cm/s, pH of 7.5, Dissolved oxygen concentration 6.88 mg/L and temperature of 27.8°C, which are all within the prescribed parameters for cage fish farming (Howerton, 2001; Queensland Water Quality Guidelines, 2009)
Summary
Fisheries and aquaculture play an important role as sources of food and income, and is critical in addressing global human food and nutrition insecurity, and economic demands (FAO, 2016). The sector contributed 3% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the 2015-2016 financial year It directly employed over 1.2 million people, generated greater than 89 million USD in export earnings, and accounted for up to 50% of animal protein food (MAAIF, 2016a). The global fish production from wild fish stocks has generally stagnated, with most fisheries already fully exploited or over-exploited (FAO, 2014, 2016); yet human population is increasing, widening the fish demandsupply gap. With the fast growing human population, to about 35 million people (UBOS, 2016); this per capita fish consumption will further decline due to increase in the fish demand-supply gap. Uganda has a significant potential for aquaculture development, since it has numerous water bodies that cover up to 20% of the country‟s total surface area (MAAIF, 2012) It has favourable climate, good culture species such as Oreochromis niloticus, and availability of raw materials for feed (NAFIRRI, 2012)
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