The country is endowed by a dense hydrological network made of several lakes, rivers and wetlands.
Around 8% of the country surface is covered by water.
Lakes occupy about 128,000 ha, rivers about 7,260 ha, water in valley and wetlands covers about
77,000 ha and several irrigation dams/reservoirs with depth above 5 m cover about 47 ha. Most of
these water bodies, more particularly lakes, are suitable for cage fish farming. It has been estimated
that 2% of Rwandan part of Lake Kivu area i.e. 2,000 ha can be used for cage culture. Assuming a low
stocking density (50 kg/m3) and a production of 500 tons/ha, the total production from this part of
Lake Kivu alone would be 1,000,000 tons of fish. An additional 63,000 tons of fish can be produced
from Lake Burera (35,000 tons) and Lake Ruhondo (28,000 tons). Cage farming is a viable mean to
increase fish production in Rwanda and hence this activity has been encouraged with the recent startups
of cage farming in Lake Kivu and other lakes of the country. PAIGELAC has supported and
organized cooperatives in cage farming in the neighboring districts of Karongi, Rusizi, Nyamasheke
and Rubavu. The size of cages ranges from 8m3 to 27m3.
According to the Rwanda Fisheries and Aquaculture Master Plan (2012), fisheries sector is planned to
produce 130,000 tons of fish annually at the horizon of 2020, with Lake Kivu providing the major
contribution. It has been estimated that Lake Kivu based cage aquaculture parks in 5 districts: Rusizi,
Nyamasheke, Karongi, Rutsiro and Rubavu bordering the lake can produce annually 125,000 tonnes of
fish using low density high volume cages of 8 m3 and a stocking density of 150 kg/m3 (Rwanda
Fisheries and Aquaculture Master Plan 2012). There are several bays across the five districts
suitable for cage farming with Nyamasheke and Karongi having the highest number and adequate
infrastructure.
A recent consultancy study by Mbabazi in August 2014 to assess the suitability for cage fish farming
on Lake Kivu estimated the sustainable level of cage farming production to 143,030 tons per year for
the whole lake based on its carrying capacity. The study advised the use of high volume/low density
cages in contrast to the fisheries master plan that recommended low volume/high density cages to
take advantage of the lake morphology and physico-chemical characteristics, particularly its high
depth and oxygen levels. With good aerated depths and large bays, the study recommended cages of
4 to 10 m in diameter and emphasize on cages of 5 to 10 m deep. As an example at Karongi District
on the shores of Lake Kivu, water is clean, water temperature is 24-25°C, and dissolved oxygen
concentration is 8 ppm in the 10 m layer. Water temperature of Lake Kivu (250C) is considered
optimum for Nile tilapia which is the species of choice in cage farming in the lake. If the cage farming
technology is proved, there are other lakes in the country which are also suitable for cage farming.
Cage farming is already practised on Lake Kivu, Bulera, Ruhondo, Muhazi, Mugesera and Mirayi.
In a timeframe of less than 3 years, commercial cage farms are establishing in the country, mainly on
Lake Kivu. Lakeside, an operating commercial fish farm since 2011 on Lake Mirayi in the Bugesera
region exploits 27 cages on Lake Kivu with an estimated output of 1 ton/week of Tilapia with size
between 400 and 500 g each. Themistocles, an aquaculture graduate from India and a pond fish
farmer near Kigali since 2011, intends to start cage farming in Lake Kivu. Deo Rutayisire, another
pond fish farmer near Kigali, a starting fish feed producer and soon to become a fingerling producer
has recently received approval from the Rwandan Government to put up 200 cages in Lake Kivu.
4.5.2 Availability of inputs (for Tilapia culture)
The Rwandan Agriculture Board (RAB) has an own governmental station at Kigembe in the Southern
part of the country to produce (both mixed and monosex) fingerlings. The breeders were two natural
strains imported from Lake Albert and Victoria in Uganda. This hatchery does not have currently its
own breeding program for genetic improvement. According to Emeritus Professor Jean-Claude Micha
(University of Namur, Belgium), RAB plans to begin in 2014 a breeding program using a GIFT breeding
scheme at Kigembe station. The hatchery at Kigembe Fish farm Station has a production capacity of
3.5 million tilapia fingerlings per year. The fingerlings are used to stock the overfished lakes in the
country, but also to stock the aquaculture farms in Rwanda and Burundi. However, most of the fish
farmers cannot afford to buy fingerlings (the fingerlings are subsidised by the government and cost
