Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153

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Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research

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Full length article

Characteristics of fish farming practices and agrochemicals usage therein

in four regions of Cameroon q
Isabelle Sandrine Bouelet Ntsama a,c,⇑, Betrand Ayuk Tambe b, Julie Judith Tsafack Takadong b,
Gabriel Medoua Nama b, Germain Kansci c
a
Advanced Teacher’s Training College for Technical Education, University of Douala, PO box 1872, Douala, Cameroon
b
Centre for Food and Nutrition Research, IMPM, PO Box 6163, Yaoundé, Cameroon
c
Department of Biochemistry, Laboratory of Food Science and Metabolism, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, PO box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Cameroon plans to reduce massive fish imports by developing aquaculture which appears to be a great
Received 7 November 2017 solution to the massive demand for animal protein. Therefore there is a need to assess fish farming
Revised 10 June 2018 practices and agrochemicals usage. A cross-sectional survey employing questionnaires was used to col-
Accepted 10 June 2018
lect information from 107 farmers in the centre, south, littoral, west regions of Cameroon between
Available online 13 July 2018
April and September 2016. The results of the study showed that fish farmers were mainly men (93%) with
49.5% as small scale farmers, 83.3% practiced earthen fish pond, and about 30% practice integrated fish
Keywords:
farming with poultry (18.6%) piggery (16.7%) and crop farming (10.7%). Feeding practices are character-
Fish farming practices
Agrochemicals
ized by the use of locally formulated powdered feeds (31.7%), animal manure, chicken droppings (20.5%)
Good practices and pig dung (18.7%). Concerning fish health management, few farmers (24.3%) refer to a veterinarian for
Cameroon prescription and 51% used agrochemical products like liming materials, fertilizers and veterinary drugs.
Tetracyclines are the most used for curative purposes. Good fish farm management practices, successful
fish health management, and periodical monitoring will contribute to produce safer fish products. Results
from this study should encourage an effective monitoring of chemicals contaminants in fish farming in
Cameroon.
Ó 2018 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access
article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Introduction production, estimated at 400.000 tons in 2015 (MINEPIA and

Aquaculture according to FAO (1997) is defined as ‘‘the farming
of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and
aquatic plants in selected or controlled environments”. Today,
aquaculture is growing more rapidly than all other animal food-
production sectors. Its contribution to global supplies of several
species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks increased from 3.9% of
total production by weight in 1970 to 33% in 2005 (FAO, 2010).
Throughout the centuries, fish has been an important component
of the population’s diet in many parts of the world. Fish constitutes
an important source of proteins, minerals, vitamins and unsatu-
rated essential fatty acids for the most underprivileged layers of
society. Aquaculture in the form of fish farming was introduced
in Cameroon in late 1940s and has seen significant progress in
the last ten years (Pouomogne and Pemsl, 2008). Nowadays, the
Peer review under responsibility of National Institute of Oceanography and
Fisheries.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ibouelet@yahoo.fr (I.S. Bouelet Ntsama).
FAO, 2009), is still insufficient to meet the market demand. Due
to growing population (2.8% annually) and rapid urbanization
which has consequently led to a significant increase in fish prices
in Cameroon. At the same time, natural fisheries stocks are maxi-
mally deteriorated and stocks of many fish species are in decline
attributed to illegal and over-fishing. Therefore aquaculture
appears to be a great solution to the massive demand for animal
protein. Whereas, conditions for fish farming in Cameroon are
good, there is a good climate suitable for the rearing of many spe-
cies, appropriate soil for pond construction and natural inland
waters covering over 40.000 km2 (Brummett, 2007). Over the last
20 years many surveys have been conducted in West (Nji and
Daouda, 1990; Pouomogne et al., 2010), North-West (Ndah et al.,
2011) and Centre (Hirigoyen et al.,1997; Oswald et al., 2015;
Fomena, 2013) regions of Cameroon, to better understand evolu-
tion of fish farming practices and local constraints inherent to its
development. Today, increased fish production by farming is there-
fore an urgent matter for many african countries (Yao et al., 2016).
A current focus taken by the government is to promote intensive

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejar.2018.06.006
1687-4285/Ó 2018 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries. Hosting by Elsevier B.V.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
146 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153
fish farming for local food supply and to increase the income of fish
farmers. Intensifying fish farming requires the use of chemicals
during fish production, these include disinfectants, antibiotics
and anthelmintic agents (Rawn, 2009). Previous studies conducted
in Europe (Alderman and Hastings, 1998) in some parts of Africa as
in Ghana (Fianko et al., 2011; Darko et al., 2016) and Nigeria
(Ogunleye et al., 2008; Adetunji et al., 2012; Ibemere and Ezeano,
2014) and in Asia (Pham et al., 2015; Sheheli et al., 2013) have
revealed chemical contamination of fish farming products. No
studies in Cameroon have investigated the occurrence of sanitary
risks related to fish farming practices. Therefore introducing
control measures in the monitoring of chemical contaminants is
a relevant issue. For the improvement of control system and future
planning on the quality and safety of fish, the information regard-
ing present fish farming practices and potential associated risk is
absolutely necessary (Sapkota et al., 2008; Subasinghe et al.,
2003) now that many developing countries have also taken steps
to put in place control systems that encourage the responsible
use of veterinary drugs and other agrochemicals to combat drug
resistance and comply with international standards. Thus, this
study stands as a preliminary enquiry on the practices in fish
Fig. 1. Map of survey area.
farming in Cameroon with the identification of chemicals use in
aquaculture activities in order to postulate on potential associated
sanitary risk.
Materials and methods
Study area
The study was conducted in four regions of Cameroon: the
center, the south, the littoral and the west regions as shown in
Fig. 1. The west region covers 13.872 km2 and is mountainous,
marked by highlands with a mean altitude of 1600 m and narrow
valleys with catchments separating them. The climate has a
unimodal wet season. The population density is relatively high,
with about 143 inhabitants/km2 (BUCREP, 2010). The central
region covers 68.926 km2 and is composed of rolling hills on a vast
plain with a mean altitude of 700–800 m, with lowered mounds.
The climate has two wet seasons. The population density is low,
with about 36 inhabitants/km2 (BUCREP, 2010; NIS, 2006). The
south region covers an area of 47.110 km2, with a population of
about 534.900 inhabitants and a density of 13.4 inhabitants per km2
 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153 147

Table 1 The teams were instructed to work in partnership with regional

Number of fish farmers and farmers surveyed per region. directories of fisheries to continue the survey. A total of 107 fish
Region Number of fish farmers Number of fish farmers were randomly surveyed from identified fish farms in each
farmers surveyed sub-division as shown in Table 1. Farmers were briefed about the
Centre objective of the study and their consent obtained before adminis-
Mefou afamba 43 20 tration of the questionnaire. The capacity of fish farmers for good
Mfoundi 25 20 practices was evaluated according to the method described by
Nyong et so’o 28 10
Gobert (2008). It consisted of a survey of fish farmers followed
South by identification of different systems practiced, as well as identifi-
Dja et lobo 47 15
cation and evaluation of indicators.
West
Menoua 46 16
Littoral Questionnaire design
Wouri 40 26
Total 229 107 A set of preliminary questionnaire was prepared. This was field
tested with 10 fish farmers. In this pilot survey much attention was
given to any new information, which was not designed to ask but
was important and informative towards the objectives. Thus nec-
(NIS, 2006). The Littoral region is covering an area of 20.239 km2
essary modifications were made based on the feedback and the
and housing more than 2.202.340 inhabitants. The population
final questionnaire was prepared on the basis of the pilot survey.
density is 124 inhabitants per km2.
The structured questionnaire with both open-ended and closed
questions was applied to the fish farm employees by a team of
Study design and data collection
two persons, the interview lasted for 30–45 min. The questionnaire
has three parts, socio-economic characteristics, fish farming prac-
The different areas were selected as they represent a high
tices and agrochemicals use. Fish farmers were evaluated on good
potential for fish farming due to favourable resources and climatic
practices according to the method described by Gobert (2008).
conditions. Data were collected between April and September 2016
using a questionnaire that was preliminary tested for better preci-
sion of the questions. Since there is a paucity of information on fish Data analysis
farms in Cameroon, the surveyors consulted local fish farmers
about the location of other fish farmers. However, it was not Data collected were edited, coded and entered in a database
always possible to reach the farms because of poor road condition. system using Microsoft Excel software. These data were then

Fig. 2. Characteristics of participating farmers and constraints (N = 107).

148 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153

exported to the Statistical Package for the Social Science 20.0
(SPSS) and Epi info version 3.5.3 Windows Version by CDC Atlanta,
Georgia, USA. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise data
as means and standard deviation for continuous variables, and per-
centages for categorical variables. Pearson correlation coefficient
was used to present the relationship between variables. Variables
with P values under 0.05 were considered significant at 95% confi-
dence interval (CI).
Results
Characteristics of participating farmers and constraints
The participating farmers were mainly males (93%) as shown in
Fig. 2. Most of the subjects had no formal training in fisheries (67%)
and 46% have between 5 and 10 years working in fish farms. Finan-
cial constraints (64%) come first for the participants and 26% of
them declared the poor quality of fingerlings.
Fish farming practices
Fish farms were surveyed and categorised in three groups
according to the number of ponds in the farms. As indicated in
Table 2, amongst the fish farms, majority 49.5% had between 1
and 4 ponds, 30% had 5 to 10 ponds and 20.5% had more than 10
ponds with a total of 726 ponds visited during the survey. Concern-
ing the surface area of the ponds 52.3% ranged from 200 to 500 m2.
Earthen pond (82.6%) was the main type of pond with the water
supply source being the river. About 60.7% of the fish farmers
obtained their fingerlings from government hatchery as compared
to just 10.3% that got their fingerlings from wild rivers. Polyculture
was the main type of fish farming practice by farmers with 68.2%
where four different species were commonly reared: Nile tilapia
(Oreochromis niloticus), African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), common
carp (Cyprinus carpio), Kanga (Heterotis niloticus). Nile tilapia and
African catfish were the species mostly reared in the monoculture
system in the four regions.
Concerning fish farming and integrated activities, this study
revealed that 54% of farmers reared fishes only while 46.1% include
others activities such as poultry (18.6%), piggery (16.7%), and crop
farming (10.8%). Feed commonly used by fish farmers are vegeta-
bles, kitchen waste, chicken droppings and pig manure. Imported
and locally formulated feed are also used. About 31.7% of the
respondents surveyed used locally formulated feed made out of
maize grains, fish flour, soybean, groundnut and cotton waste, at

Table 2
Fish farming practices.

Variables Centre Littoral South West Overall Percent

Number of pond per farm
1–4 23 14 13 3 53 49.5
5–10 13 10 1 8 32 30.0
>10 14 2 1 5 22 20.5
Surface area of the pond (m2)
200–500 250 60 50 20 380 52.3
600–1000 115 40 40 10 205 28.2
>1000 100 19 15 7 141 19.4
Type of ponds
Earthen 400 80 90 40 600 82.6
Concrete 20 20 5 7 52 7.2
Cage 5 9 – – 14 1.9
Dam pond 40 10 10 – 60 8.3
Sources of water supply
Borehole 3 2 – – 5 4.7
Deep well 2 1 – 1 4 3.7
River 40 20 10 10 80 74.7
source 5 3 5 5 18 16.9
Source of fingerlings
Wild water 5 3 – 3 11 10.3
Personal hatcheries 3 2 3 1 9 8.4
Private hatcheries 10 7 2 3 22 20.6
Government hatcheries 32 14 10 9 65 60.7
Fish farming techniques
Monoculture 4 2 – – 6 5.6
Polyculture 30 21 12 10 73 68.2
Integrated 16 3 3 6 28 26.2
Integrated fish farming
Fisheries only 25 21 10 – 56 54.0
Fisheries & Poultry 11 – 2 8 21 18.6
Fisheries & piggery 8 2 3 6 19 16.7
Fisheries & crop farming 6 3 – 2 11 10.7
Feeding practices
Vegetable 5 – 1 1 7 6.5
Locally Formulated fish meal 15 9 5 5 34 31.7
Kitchen waste 4 2 – – 6 5.6
Chicken droppings 8 6 3 5 22 20.5
Pig manure 8 4 3 5 20 18.7
Fish meal imported 10 5 3 – 18 16.8
Fish health management
Prescription by Veterinary
Yes 8 8 5 5 26 24.3
No 42 18 10 11 81 75.7
 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153 149

different percentage depending on the type of fish reared. For fish
health management, 75.7% of the farmers do not refer to a veteri-
narian for prescription and turned to other farmers for advice
when disease occurred in their ponds, they apply treatments by
themselves. Some fish farmers in the littoral region reported White
spot disease (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) and Epizootic ulcerative
syndrome (EUS) as the diseases frequently occurring for Nile tila-
pia (Oreochromis niloticus). White spot disease is one of the most
common parasitic diseases affecting tropical fish. It is caused when
a protozoan attacks and attaches itself to a fish’s body, fins, and
gills causing high damages to the fish such as breathing and mobil-
ity problems and even death.
Agrochemicals use in fish farming
Agrochemical products used in the farms were surveyed as
illustrated in Table 3, the most common substances used are the
following groups of substances including: liming materials,
fertilizers, veterinary drugs used for disease control, and pesticides.
Concerning the first group, 44% of fish farmers used liming materi-
als (Lime, urea) for different purposes (neutralize acidity and
increase total alkalinity, disinfection of ponds and prevent invasive
wild species). In this study commonly used fertilisers are mono-
and di phosphate, potassium permanganate (KMnO4), NPK and
iodine. Some fish diseases are also treated by the application of
potassium permanganate in fish pond. Fertilizers are applied to
ponds to increase plant nutrient concentrations, stimulate phyto-
plankton and zooplankton growth, and ultimately enhance the
production of fish. The most common inorganic fertilizers are
nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Potassium, trace metals,
and silicate may be contained in some fertilizers. Few farmers
reported the use of antibiotics, only 10% used Oxyveto and Oxyte-
tracline Hcl in powder form. Both belonging to the Tetracyclines.
These were specific to Clarias gariepinus to treat some disease out-
breaks of parasitic disease (white spot) and fungal disease (EUS).
No diseases were reported for Oreochromis niloticus. Motilium
and ovaprim (15%) are both used for fingerling production.
Ovaprim is a liquid peptide preparation that contains an analog
of salmon gonadotropin releasing hormone (sGnRHa) and a brain
neurotransmitter (dopamine) inhibitor. As described by farmers,
ovaprim is used as a spawning aid to induce ovulation (release of
mature ovocytes/eggs) and spermiation (release of milt/sperm) in
mature fish. Regardless of the species, the doses vary between
0.5 ml/kg fish body weight to 1.0 ml/kg. Only 6% of fish farmers
have declared the usage of pesticides around the ponds, Roundup
54 and Pyriforce are used as herbicides applied to ponds to reduce
the abundance of nuisance aquatic plants.
Fish farmer practices assessment
Fish farmers were evaluated based on identified indicators, fish
farm management, feeding practices, and production, each with
different items as shown in Table 4. For fish farm management,
the items were qualification in fish farming, good aquaculture
practices, and use of a veterinarian. For the feeding practices, the
type of systems, the number of meals per days, and the type of
feeding and for production, we evaluate fish farmers on pond dis-
infection, the use of chemicals, and harvesting. Scores were attrib-
uted based on specifications respectively classified as bad (6–10),
fairly good (11–14) and very good (15–20). Fish farmers, regardless
of the region and factors used for assessment, who fall in the range
6–10, were considered as bad practices, few farmers fall in the
range 16–20, then were considered as good practices. Statistical
analysis using cross-tabulation was performed to verify the rela-
tionship between indicators and their items. The results revealed
that fish farm management has a significant association with qual-
ifications in fish farming and good aquaculture practices. Feeding
practices also had significant association with fish farming systems
and production with harvesting.
Discussion
In order to assess fish farming practices and identify potential
sanitary risk related to chemicals used in this activity, we per-
formed a cross-sectional study including 107 fish farmers in four
regions of Cameroon. Our results indicated that the aquaculture

Table 3
Chemical products used in surveyed fish farms.

Chemicals used Active substance Purpose Mode and rate of application Frequency Percentage
(N) (%)
Liming materials
Lime (Quick lime) Calcium oxide (CaO), Correcting pH, disinfectant 10 to 30 kg per 100 m2 water surface, Dissolved in 90 30,72
water and broadcast over pond surface
Urea (H2NCONH2) _ Correcting pH, disinfectant 3 g/m2/week 40 13,65
Fertilisers
Mono- and di – Fertilization Sprayed or distributed over water surface 20 6,83
phosphate
(NH4)2HPO4)
Potassium Sterilization Applied in dried pond 20 6,83
permanganate
(KMnO4)
NPK – Fertilization 50 kg/ha/month Dissolved 18 6,14
Iodine – Sterilization 1–2 ppm Applied in dried pond 10 3,41
Veterinary drugs
Oxyveto Oxytetracycline 535 mg Parasitic and bacterial 40–60 mg powder/kg fish weight 15 5,12
diseases
Oxytetracycline Hcl oxytetracycline Hcl 10 mg White spot disease Parasitic 1.5 ppm Mixed with feed 15 5,12
and bacterial diseases
Motilium Dompéridone 1 mg 20 6,83
Ovaprym salmon gonadotropin 0.5 ml per kg of bodyweight. Injection 25 8,53
releasing hormone 20ug/ml
Pesticides
Roundup 54 Glyphosate – Sprayed around ponds 10 3,41
Pyriforce Chlorpyriphos ethyl 10 3,41
150 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153

Table 4
Indicators for good fish farm management.

Score
Variables
6–10 n (%) 11–14 n (%) 15–20 n (%) Total n (%) v2 P-Value
Region
Centre 35(43.7) 13(65.0) 2(28.5) 50(46.7)
South 13(16.2) 2(10.0) 0(0.0) 15(14.0)
7.45 0.28
Littoral 22(27.5) 2(10.0) 2(28.5) 26(24.3)
West 10(12.5) 3(15.0) 3(43.0) 16(15.0)
Fish farm management
Qualification in fish farming
No formal training 64(80) 8(40) 1(14.0) 73(68.2)
National diploma 10(12.5) 6(30) 3(43.0) 19(18.0) 16.35 0.003*
Higher national diploma 6(7.5) 6(30) 3(43.0) 15(14.0)
Good aquaculture practices
Yes 6(7.5) 17(85.0) 5(71.5) 28(26.0)
No 74(92.5) 3(15.0) 2(28.5) 79(74.0) 22.00 0.000*
Use of Veterinarian
Yes 31(38.7) 12(60.0) 6(85.7) 49(45.8)
2.42 0.29
No 49(61.3) 8(40.0) 1(14.3) 58(52.2)
Feeding practices
Systems
Extensive 61(76.2) 7(35.0) 1(14.3) 69(64.5)
Semi intensive 10(12.5) 8(40.0) 3(42.8) 21(19.6) 18.45 0.000*
integrated 9(11.3) 5(25.0) 3(42.8) 17(15.8)
Number of meals
Once per day 20(25.0) 3(15.0) 1(14.3) 24(22.5)
Twice per day 53 (66.3) 17(85.0) 5(71.4) 75(70.0) 4.13 0.38
Thrice per day 7(8.7) 0(0.0) 1(14.3) 8(7.5)
Type of feeding
Imported feed 10(12.5) 6(30.0) 3(43.0) 19(17.7)
Local feed 43(53.7) 7(35.0) 4(57.0) 54(50.5) 5.26 0.261
Others 27(33.8) 7(35.0) 0(0.0) 34(31.8)
Production
Pond disinfection
Yes 16(20.0) 19(95.0) 7(100.0) 42(86.1)
2.57 0.27
No 64(80.0) 1(5.0) 0(0.0) 65(13.9)
Use of chemical products
Yes 23(28.7) 6(30.0) 3(42.9) 32(29.9)
No 57(71.3) 14(70.0) 4(57.1) 75(70.1) 2.73 0.25
Harvesting
Once/year 74(92.5) 16(80.0) 2(28.5) 92(85.9)
20.00 0.001*
Twice/year 6(7.5) 4(20.0) 5(71.5) 15(14.1)
*
Statistically significant with P value < 0.05.

sector in Cameroon is made up of three types of farmers, small
scale with extensive production systems, medium scale and large
scale with semi intensive production system. Fish farming profes-
sion is male dominated with 19:1 male to female ratio; women are
mostly involved in sales. Very few farmers are qualified on fish
farming (31.4%) probably due to insufficient training in fish farm-
ing techniques. Fish farmers faced many constraints, firstly the lack
of financial resources, secondly the lack and poor quality of finger-
lings, thirdly the low rates of production and finally the high costs
of fish feed. These results are similar to previous study that
revealed that fish farmers in Cameroon are mainly small-scale
farmers producing 2–5 tons of fish per hectare and a predominance
of large-scale farmers who produce up to 16 tons per hectare
(Kaktcham et al., 2015). A survey in the central and eastern region
of Cameroon including 125 fish farmers revealed that fish farmers
come into the profession as businessmen with no prior knowledge
on fish farming (Oswald et al., 2015). Ndah et al. (2011) in a survey
conducted in southwest and northwest regions of Cameroon, also
reported the lack of good quality fingerlings, the limited technical
knowledge on production process, limited access to feed as the
three crucial inhibiting factors responsible for the low state of this
activity. Nsangou et al. (2013), reported low level of education and
poor water quality. The availability of high quality fingerlings and
feeds has been identified as the most important factors that con-
strain the development of the sector in Cameroon (Pouomogne,
2007). As described by many authors, fish farming still faced diffi-
culties to emerge in most developing countries (Pouomogne and
Brummett, 2002; Lock, 2002; Chirindza, 2010; Tekwombou,
2014; Faruk et al., 2004). Smallholder farmers have insufficient
opportunities to learn about new technologies and improve their
skills (Bigwa, 2013; Salau et al., 2014; Tsafack et al., 2015). The
effect of this is a high rate of abandoned ponds due to poor out-
comes, and low quality production. The main challenge for policy
makers to improve fish farming in developing countries like
Cameroon is to develop low-cost, sustainable approaches to pro-
viding information and services to fish farmers. A similar approach
has been tested in Malawi and Kenya for enhancing fish farming.
The Farmer-to-Farmer approach (F2F) responds to farmers’ needs
for information on new practices, inputs and technologies through
lead farmers, who share their knowledge and experience with
others, and host demonstrations and experiments on their farms
(Kiptot et al., 2012; Hird-Younger and Simpson, 2013; Tsafack
et al., 2015). Furthermore the government support for financial
subventions, technical assistance and monitoring will contribute
to improve fish farming practices in Cameroon. The present study
revealed differences in fish farming practices on the farms visited
in the study areas. The central and southern regions are character-
ized by extensive and semi-intensive farms, the coastal region has
more farms with semi-intensive systems, and the western region is
dominated by the extensive system associated with poultry and
 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153
pig breeding. In an extensive system, tilapia, catfish, common carp,
kanga and viper fish are raised mostly in earthen and dam ponds.
Small scale farmers utilize earthen ponds because it’s the easiest
structure in rural zones when starting fish farming where the
water supply is natural rivers. A good water management is an
important factor that affects fish health. Khoi (2011) shows that
ponds with a high water exchange rate have healthier fish. In poly-
culture, the common practice is the association of Nile tilapia (Ore-
ochromis niloticus), with the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus),
because catfish plays a double role as it controls the reproduction
of the tilapia and contributes to the final yield (Bogne Sadeu et al.,
2013). The final yield is also ensured by appropriate feeding prac-
tices; in extensive system the fish are fed occasionally with agro-
food by-products and unconventional foods like kitchen waste,
vegetables, and animal manure such as chicken droppings and
pork dung. The semi intensive system is characterized by breeding
in mono or polyculture which produces a higher yield than the sep-
arate crop of different species (monoculture). Moreover, the differ-
ent food resources present naturally in the pond are better used. In
the semi intensive system in the central, southern and littoral,
medium and large scale farmers use locally formulated products
with raw materials like cottonseed meal, groundnut flour, maize,
fish flour, imported food and animal manure. The fish are fed reg-
ularly with these by-products or foodstuffs produced by the fish
farmers themselves and local commercial industrial foods. About
30% of the farms surveyed practise integrated fish farming, with
19% fish/chicken farming and 16.66% fish/pig farming. This is more
observed in the west region of Cameroon where farming is the
common source of income. Oshuware Oben et al. (2015) reported
another integrated system in the southwest and northwest regions,
the combination of poultry with fish-rice practised as a means to
increase farmer income through better resource utilization. The
breeding cycles practiced are the normal cycle. Fish farmers mainly
obtained the fingerlings from the government hatcheries, but as
seen previously, the quality is not always good. As noticed in pre-
vious studies the use of chemicals is influenced by fish farming sys-
tem (Shamsuzzaman et al., 2012). In the extensive systems, this is
limited to fertilizers, while in semi-intensive a wide range of natu-
ral and synthetic compounds are used. It was also found from the
present survey that farmers were using at various rates some
chemicals, mostly liming materials and fertilizers, such as lime
and urea, especially when ponds are dried due to water quality
deterioration. Fertilizers are not commonly used in Cameroon
small-holder ponds and this is mainly due to the high price of
the commodity. In some commercial farms NPK (20:10:10) is the
most commonly used fertilizer at an application rate of 50 kg/ha/-
month to enhance phytoplankton start up, followed by organic fer-
tilization and supplemental feeding. Other on-farm by-products
that are used for pond fertilization or as feed include palm oil pres-
sure extraction molasses, sugar cane molasses, bean envelopes,
over ripe fruit (papaya, guava, avocado), kitchen wastes, dead ani-
mals (mostly chickens and pigs), slaughtered animal viscera, mis-
cellaneous forest fruits and termites. All the above are commonly
used on an ad hoc basis, though precise application rates have
not been determined (Pouomogne, 2007). Veterinary drugs with
oxytetracycline as active substance are used indiscriminately,
mainly in the center and littoral regions, few farmers use a veteri-
narian for drug prescription. The use of drugs and chemicals in fish
farming in developed countries is strictly regulated (Mensah et al.,
2014). The risks associated with chemicals used in fish farming in
Europe have been taken into account since the 1980s with the set-
ting of regulations on the sale and monitoring of these chemicals.
In the US, there are only six drugs approved for use in aquaculture:
one anesthetic, one parasiticide, one spawning agent, and three
antibiotics (Shamsuzzaman et al., 2012). In Africa and particularly
in Cameroon, there is still no clear regulation for chemicals and
151
veterinary drugs. Furthermore developing countries do not have
the scientific tools to control these chemicals in food. In Cameroon,
a study revealed that 61% of the products or medicines used in fish
farming are not in conformity with those of the EU (Mensah et al.,
2014). Oxytetracyclines are antibiotics approved for use to treat
disease but only in certain types of aquatic animal and only to treat
specific diseases (Benbrook, 2002). In the present Investigation,
chemicals risks are linked to the production variables. For the type
of ponds, the risk arises from water supply, natural waters; like riv-
ers; are often at risk of being contaminated by pollutants including
trace elements and pesticides (Darko et al., 2008). Each culture sys-
tem has aspects that affect the production densities and risk for
disease. Concerning feeding, potential risks are related with trace
elements present in locally formulated and imported feed, and
the use of animal manure that is classified as hazardous organic
matter originating from animal feces (Mlejnkova and Sovova,
2012). Additionally it represents great public health concern,
owing to an increase in the concentrations of pathogenic microor-
ganisms in animal manure (Petersen et al., 2002). In these circum-
stances, the risks associated with the products used in such farms
may be high (Anderson et al., 2003). Previous studies have shown
that in integrated systems there are several factors that could
affect fish quality, water and sediment pollution from livestock
waste, and contamination with antibiotics used in livestock opera-
tions (Björklund et al., 1990). Chickens and pigs are reared inten-
sively antimicrobial agents are used as growth promoters and for
prophylactic and therapeutic treatment. Tetracyclines (oxytetracy-
cline and chlortetracycline) and sulphonamides (sulfadiazine and
sulfamethazine), are the most common antibiotics present in poul-
try and pig manures (Shri, 2010). Many studies reported the pres-
ence of antimicrobials in poultry in Cameroon (Gondam et al.,
2016), in Tanzania (Nonga et al., 2009) and in Nigeria (Ogunleye
et al., 2008). Within integrated fish farming systems, antimicro-
bials, their residues, and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria may enter
the fish ponds through animal manure and/or excess feeding and
are potential sources of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria
(Christensen et al., 2006). Such a contamination by veterinary
antibiotics exposes humans to a constant threat of unknown con-
sequences due to the presence of low concentrations of antibiotics
in the environment. This threatens the human health by diminish-
ing the success of antibiotic treatment (Selim and Cavit, 2011).
Other risks are related with the direct use of pesticides in ponds.
Previous studies in Cameroon reported the presence of some pesti-
cides in different foodstuffs including fish (Gimou et al., 2008).
Pouokam et al. (2017) also describes the risks related to the uses
of pesticides in agriculture (acute pesticide poisoning: itches, skin
burn, eye problems, cough, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, headache
and dizziness). The same authors indicated that the most used pes-
ticides in the country were Paraquat and Glyphosate (herbicides),
Cypermethrine and Chlorpyryfos (insecticides). Insecticides in
aquaculture ponds should be discouraged. Many of these com-
pounds are bioaccumulative and could contaminate fish. As a
result of low technical knowledge, poor fish farming practices
and low financial income of the fish farmers the quality of fish
farming products are at the end affected.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that fish farming practices in Camer-
oon is still predominantly extensive, and semi intensive in some
regions but it represents a high potential to provide the population
with a good quality fish. Fish farming system is characterised by
polyculture of different species in earthen ponds. The potential
sanitary risk for human is mainly based on the misuse of agro-
chemicals and intensive usage of antibiotics in integrated fish
farming with poultry and piggery. This associate to the identified
152 I.S. Bouelet Ntsama et al. / Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 44 (2018) 145–153
constraints like poor quality of fingerlings thus leading finally to
health problems. With the long term, these chemicals should be
periodically monitored in order to avoid any public health concern.
As fish farming assumes an expanding role in meeting consumer
demands for fishery products, it is necessary that they meet safety
and quality standards. Many of the potential hazards at the pro-
duction level can be controlled by good fish farm management
practices, which control infectious diseases and improve the safety
of the products. Successful fish health management starts with
prevention of disease rather than treatment, and this is accom-
plished through the implementation of integrated measures at
the production level. This global management will contribute to
produce safer fish products and Cameroonian fish farming may
finally fulfils its potential as an engine for development in
Cameroon.
Conflict of interest statement
The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank Pr Feidt, C and Dr Mbey J.A for their count-
less help. We acknowledge the cooperation of the fish farmers who
took part in this investigation because they believe that research
and collaborations with scientists is an essential step to ensure
quality and safety of fish farming products.
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