Peter (left) and Chris at their fish farm in Harbour View.

Messers Chris and Peter Higgins are brothers born and raised in Kingston. They developed a deep love for fishes from an early age and attribute this to their father who introduced them to ornamental fishes. Chris, the older of the brothers, pursued a diploma in Telecommunications and Electronics at the College of Arts, Science and Technology (now University of Technology), while Peter completed a degree in Zoology at the University of the West Indies. Chris went on to work in the electronics field and Peter did some teaching.

Both brothers were contemplating new jobs when they discovered that a cousin of theirs was exporting ornamental fishes. They conducted research on the marketing potential of this enterprise and found that there was a high demand for fishes both locally and overseas.

Chris and Peter read a lot of books on rearing ornamental fishes and decided to build a controlled environment where they could monitor their fishes on just 972 sq. ft of land in their backyard. They were one of the first to set up this type of system in Jamaica; this was 10 years ago. Both brothers now work full time breeding and selling ornamental fishes and setting up of aquariums. Their years of experience have also enabled them to act as consultants.

A controlled environment is important especially here in Jamaica because even recently there has been a lot of rain. With a system such as this, a farmer would only suffer minimal loss during heavy rains. In addition, there is no need for a large land area for effective and efficient production of large numbers of fishes. The system is also closed where water is concerned; the water used is recycled.

Categorisation, purpose, impact

The technology is categorised under livestock and is a modified tradition. The purpose is to produce large quantities of fishes on minimal land space. It achieves impact through the production of large number of fishes to meet local demand.

Technical details

The controlled ornamental fish farm consists of 20 plastic vats each fitted and connected to a main water supply by PVC fittings.

There are four gravel beds for filtering and one pump for pumping the filtered water to the vats. The clean (filtered) water is constantly pumped from the reservoir to one of the gravel beds that is elevated above ground; the water is then fed to the vats. The waste water then runs down to the gravel beds (three of the four) for filtering. And the cycle goes on.

The system does not need much space and takes up only 972 sq. ft of land. The system is efficient and produces large number of fishes with very little maintenance.

Vats containing ornamental fishes. - Contributed photos

Costs and benefits

The initial cost for setting up this system is not expensive. It is not labour intensive, therefore, there is no hired labour. Investments made so far include the land and money for fish (bought for breeding), fish feed, vats, PVC fittings, gravel and electricity. Benefits gained include high production, socio-cultural status (now they are setting up systems for some of Jamaica's celebrities) and cost effectiveness. The price of ornamental fishes ranges from US$2 to over US$47 for one fish; they sell hundreds, even thousands of fishes at least three days per week.

Adoption

Chris and Peter have helped over 10 persons to set up similar systems and have shared their knowledge with over a hundred persons. They also work as consultants for the Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC), helping young Jamaicans who are interested in ornamental fish rearing. They have several links with funding agencies and NGOs, example EXIM bank and Agricultural Support Services Project. They have also documented some of their knowledge in the form of booklets which were distributed by JBDC, and they have also given radio interviews.

Possible improvements

Land space is a limiting factor in the brothers' enterprise. They have, however, managed to successfully maintain their operation within its limits. They believe that the system that is now being utilised has been working successfully and would not require further changes at this time.

The ornamental fish export market is a promising foreign exchange earner and Jamaica could benefit from the experiences of Chris and Peter Higgins.

Page Produced by the Mona Institute of Applied Sciences. To comment on this article contact MIAS at 970-2021 or email: mias@uwimona.edu.jm