How crocodile attacks led to fish farming venture

Finding and maintaining a stable market remains one of the greatest challenges for many entrepreneurs.

Without customers, businesses suffer losses, and owners may even be forced to shut down completely.

But what happens when the demand for your products exceeds the available supply? 

This was the difficult situation Ibrahim Wayu faced when his fish business became a stressful experience, as customers kept calling, yet he had none to offer. 

“The overwhelming demand left me under pressure as I struggled to meet customer expectations. I found myself confused and not knowing what to do,” Wayu told Smart Harvest.

As a fisherman, Wayu relied on fishing in the Tana River to supply fish to his clients. Over time, he built a loyal customer base.

As fate would have it, around 2020, crocodiles infested the fishing areas, leading to a sharp rise in human-wildlife conflict, with many fishers being injured and others killed in crocodile attacks.

Feeling unsafe due to frequent crocodile attacks while fishing, Wayu resolved to invest in fish ponds. 

In early 2024, he constructed his first fish pond, stocking it with 1,000 fingerlings sourced from the local river. However, the challenges he faced during his first investment opened his eyes to the realities of fish farming.

At first, the local fingerlings took longer than the average six months to mature. He also lacked knowledge about the right fish feeds, forcing him to rely on wild plants and vegetable waste to feed them.

“These challenges became an important learning opportunity for me,” said Wayu from the Bondeni area of Tana River County.

When the fish finally matured, ready buyers were already lined up. In less than a month, he harvested and sold the entire stock, with each fish selling for between Sh300 and Sh350. 

The successful sales motivated him to invest even more in fish farming. This time, he decided to construct two additional ponds.

He also met people and organisations that trained him in proper fish management practices and connected him with reliable suppliers of fingerlings.

He installed polythene liners at the base of the ponds and bought tilapia fingerlings from a certified supplier in the Mt Kenya region.

Wayu dug a borehole and uses solar panels to pump water into the ponds. He normally drains and refills the ponds every 30 to 45 days.

Today, his three ponds each hold 1,200 fish, bringing the total stock to 3,600 fish. He now plans to construct more ponds to meet the ever-increasing demand for fish.

He said the investment came at a high cost.

Digging each pond costs Sh60,000, bringing the total to Sh120,000 for the two ponds.

He also bought polythene liners at Sh285 per metre, with liners for both ponds costing a total of Sh285,000.

Wayu bought fingerlings at Sh10 each, meaning 1,200 fingerlings cost him Sh12,000. Other expenses included the installation of inlet and outlet pipes for the ponds.

The current fish stock in Wayu’s ponds is three months old, and he plans to harvest them after five to six months, when they mature and reach a good market weight.

He advises, “If you keep them for too long, they continue consuming feeds, which results in losses.”

Also, fish feed comes from far towns such as Mombasa, Nairobi and Thika, and it takes time before the supplies arrive. As a result, he must always have enough money to place orders in advance.

He confided that the fish farming business has proved beneficial. Today, he can comfortably provide for his family and pay school fees for his children, among them, two who are studying at local universities.

He’s a huge market for his fish. Apart from home consumption, he also sells to individual buyers, hotels and traders who resell the fish in Hola town.

Wayu cites challenges from wild animals that prey on the fish. However, he personally guards the ponds during the day, while at night, he relies on his fierce dogs to help protect them.

Meanwhile, even as Wayu supplies fish to customers in Tana River, fish consumption in Kenya remains considerably below the healthy intake levels recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Dr Casianes Olilo from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), Turkana Station, says an average Kenyan consumes between 2.9kg and 5kg of fish per year. Yet, WHO recommends 15-20kg per person annually, equivalent to two servings of fish per week. 

He noted that Kenya’s fish production has increased gradually but remains below national demand.

Kenya currently produces approximately 168,000 tonnes of fish annually against a demand of 500,000–600,000 tonnes, creating a deficit exceeding 300,000 tonnes per year.

“Kenya produces roughly one-third of national requirements. This gap creates significant opportunities for aquaculture investments in areas such as cage and pond culture, hatcheries, fish feed production, cold storage and processing, and solar-powered fish preservation systems,” Dr Olilo said.

Lakes Victoria and Turkana contribute 67–70 per cent, marine fisheries 20–22 per cent, and aquaculture 18–20 per cent of Kenya’s fish production.

He said Kenya imports fish from countries such as China, Uganda, Tanzania, Pakistan, Norway, India, and Vietnam to bridge the supply gap.