Processing of fish deals with the processes associated with fish and fish products between the time fish are caught or harvested, and the time the final product is delivered to the customer.

As for how much to sell your smoked catfish for, first find out the cost of producing the smoked catfish including cost of firewood or gas, packaging, etc. When this is done, try to compare your price with the average market price. If your price is higher, look for innovative ways to reduce your cost of production. This might mean buying from a fish farm directly instead of from a fish market. Sometimes (especially when you use an oven), your price will be higher than those sold in the market. It is left to you to make your customers understand the quality they are getting when they buy from you. Also note that properly dried fish will lose between 70–75% of its body mass so factor this into you cost analysis and other calculations.

Eunice Akponimisingha, a housewife, says she earns more than N200,000 every month from catfish farming, while staying at home to operate the business.

She said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.

Mrs. Akponimisingha stressed that catfish farming was a profitable agribusiness, saying that she earned more income than most civil servants in the country.

“I can’t really tell you the exact money I make in a month, as my profit depends on my harvest. However, through catfish farming, I make a net profit of over N200,000 in a month, which makes me more comfortable than most civil servants.

“Sometimes, the money is more and at other times it is within the range of N200,000. Catfish farming has really made me comfortable because the market is readily available.

“After rearing the fish for six months, I bake the fishes in my oven because most of my customers prefer dried fish to the fresh one.

“Many people have a preference for dried catfish because it can be used for any meal; especially soups,’’ she said.

“I was motivated to go into catfish farming because its start-up capital is not too expensive, while the returns and market are quite huge,’’ she said.

She said that catfish was the only species of fish that she bred because it was easy to get the fingerlings, adding that catfish was easy to breed or feed, while people liked the fish because of its unique taste in meals.

Mrs. Akponimisingha appealed to the Federal Government to subsidise the high cost of the inputs used in catfish farming so as to boost its availability in the country.

She also urged housewives and youth to engage in fish farming, saying that it was a veritable means of economic empowerment.
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