118 Kitojo Wetengere and Aubrey Harris
per year compared to 10 months income earning from wild capture fisheries
and 11 months earning from businesses (ibid).
Employment: Aquaculture has to some extent created employment in rural
communities where economic opportunities are limited. Farmers earned
income from aquaculture through pond and cage construction and repair;
harvest of aquaculture produce and selling of seeds captured from the wild or
own ponds and earning from doing business of aquatic produce.
Other Impacts of Aquaculture: Mariculture contributed to environmental
degradation of land through cutting of trees or destruction of the mangrove
ecosystem to establish milkfish ponds, crab fattening and shrimp farming
areas. Similarly, fresh water aquaculture can lead to deteriorating quality of
public water as a result of the wastes discharged.
THE REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT
OF AQUACULTURE PROJECTS
From a survey conducted in Zanzibar and a review of previous
aquaculture initiatives as described in the methodology, this section identifies
the major factors which have determined the success and failure of the past
and the on-going aquaculture trials.
Low Priority Given to Aquaculture by the Government
The history of the development of aquaculture in Tanzania shows that
until more recently, the government had neglected aquaculture paying more
attention to capture fisheries. This attitude contributed a lot to the present
underdeveloped state of aquaculture leading to the dependence of the
development of the sector on externally funded technical cooperation projects.
Despite recording varying degrees of success, project achievements have
mostly been short lived simply because the methods they relied on did not
sufficiently build upon an existing government extension system and ‘farmer’s
self-help spirit.’
Low priority accorded to the sector was reflected in the following ways:
Firstly, in terms of lack of political will which led to allocate meager funds to
the aquaculture sector. Consequently, it adversely affected the development of
extension workers and extension services. Poor motivation of the extension