This is the executive summary of a report, published on 15 May 2026 by AWASH.
You can find the full report here: link
AWASH has completed two phases of research on fish welfare in Ghanaian aquaculture: a desk-based literature review titled Aquaculture and Fish Welfare in Ghana, and an on-site scoping study that included visits to eight large commercial cage farms on Lake Volta, along with stakeholder interviews with farmers, hatcheries, veterinarians, researchers, and regulators. Ghana's tilapia sector produces approximately 200 million fish per year and is concentrated among a small number of large commercial cage farms, which creates the potential for scalable interventions. This report compares candidate interventions to determine which are likely to be most impactful and cost-effective in this context.
This report is intended to:
Five intervention areas were assessed in priority order:
High potential — selected as pilot intervention
Juvenile survival rates of 40–55% were observed to be substantially lower than grow-out survival across farms. Egg disinfection using iodophor or potassium permanganate can reduce microbial load under controlled conditions, and existing use on some Ghanaian farms indicates the practice is feasible to adopt. Evidence on whether microbial reductions translate reliably into improved survival under farm conditions is limited, which the pilot aims to address. Formalin, though reported as effective in some studies, is banned for food-related use in Ghana and is excluded.
High potential — not selected for pilot at this stage; further research recommended
Low DO directly impairs fish physiology and increases disease susceptibility. Aeration technology is already familiar to some farmers through use in broodstock and nursery systems. However, systematic DO monitoring, especially during early morning and overnight hours, when depletion is most likely, has not been conducted at grow-out cages, making it difficult to establish the scale of the problem or the likely benefit of intervention.
High potential — not selected for pilot at this stage; further research recommended
Feed accounts for 60–70% of production costs, and the concentration of the supply market (one brand dominates across almost all farms visited) means that supplier-level changes could have sector-wide reach. However, the nutritional composition of commercially available feed in Ghana is unknown, the split between extruded and pelleted feed across farms is unclear, and it is uncertain whether current formulations pose a welfare problem beyond what FCR data can indicate. This area is retained for future work.
Foundational — not selected for pilot at this stage; further research recommended
Weak diagnostic infrastructure contributes to misattribution of mortality, undermines farmer confidence in interventions, and limits the quality of evidence that any pilot can generate. Strengthening this capacity is unlikely to produce measurable welfare improvements on its own, but would improve decision-making across the sector and was highlighted as a priority in the literature. Deeper engagement with relevant institutions is needed before a specific intervention can be designed.
Broodstock health and welfare
Moderate potential
Broodstock condition affects egg quality, fry resilience, and disease resistance. Three intervention routes were considered: improved nutrition, broodstock vaccination, and water quality management.
Three interventions were considered low likelihood of impact:
A cost-effectiveness analysis compared egg disinfection and DO aeration across realistic, pessimistic, and optimistic scenarios. Both interventions appear cost-effective under the assumptions used. Estimated costs per life impacted were:
Results based on cost per life year improved favoured egg disinfection. Given higher uncertainty in estimating life years impacted for fish, cost per life impacted is treated as the primary decision metric. On this basis, egg disinfection is consistently more cost-effective and also carries lower upfront costs, improving the likelihood of farmer adoption.
Egg disinfection is selected as the priority pilot intervention. The pilot will test iodophor and potassium permanganate at the Aquaculture Research and Development Centre (ARDEC) and one commercial farm over an initial three-month period, with outcomes assessed against control batches. Expansion criteria will require clear and consistent evidence of improvements in hatchability and early-stage survival.
Disclaimer: I used an LLM to help draft/edit this report, but I’ve reviewed and edited it myself before posting.
