When many hear the word “farming”, they think pigs, goats, sheep, or ground produce. However, for 24- year-old Roshedo Williams, she thinks “ornamental fishing.”

Williams is currently the Operations Manager of Tropical Ornamental Fish Farm in Hartlands, St Catherine, which holds a variety of pet fishes from live breeders to cichlids, coy fish and many more.

She told the Jamaica Observer that she considers Tropical Ornament Fish Farm as one of the largest fish farms in the island and that there are endless possibilities for Ornamental Fishing in Jamaica.

The business was started by Robert Yap in his yard in Kingston as a hobby, but he later purchased a property in Hartlands, St Catherine, which is the current location of the fish farm.

The farm has been in operation for about twenty years and over 60 different species of fish can be found there.

Williams divulged that there has not been any case of theft, and this, she believes is as a result of having a good relationship with community members.

“Currently, there are five full-time employees that work on the farm. However, persons from the community are sometimes hired on a temporary basis to help with the proceedings of the farm,” she told the Observer.

She added: “The aim is definitely to expand the business, but funding has posed quite a challenge as ornamental fishing is quite costly.”

Williams also shared with the Observer that she believes that ornamental fishing has much potential, especially for export, as Jamaica has the perfect weather conditions to produce tropical fish all year round.

Ornamental fish farming or culture is the culture of attractive, colorful fishes of various characteristics, which are reared in a confined aquatic system.

Ornamental fish are mainly sold locally through pet shops and street-side peddling. The value of the total ornamental fish produced and sold locally is to the tune of $15 million. This value represents 90 per cent of Jamaica’s total production. Only the remaining 10 per cent is being exported to other countries, primarily the USA, Canada and UK. Jamaica has potential for increasing the export market to over US$10 million over the next five years.

Some tips for the successful production of ornamental fishes:

1. Breeding and rearing unit should be made near a constant supply of water and electricity. If the unit is located near the streams, it will be excellent where the unit can receive potable water and the rearing unit can be made flow-through.

2.Constant availability of agro-based by-products like oil cakes, rice polish and wheat bran, and animal-based protein such as fish meal and prawn-head meal, will facilitate preparation of pelleted diet for the fish. The brood-stock selected for breeding should be of superior quality so that they produce quality fish for sale. It is advisable that the young ones could be grown till their maturity. It not only gives enough experience of handling the fish but also helps in controlled selection.

3. Breeding and rearing unit may be established preferably nearer to airport/railway station so that live fish could be easily transported to internal market as also for export.

4. A fish breeder could concentrate preferably on a single marketable species to streamline management measures.

5. Proper knowledge on market demand, customer preference and overall, the operation of a marketing network through personal contacts and public relations is desirable.

6. Pioneer and expert groups in this field may always be kept in touch with to keep track of recent developments in marketing as well as research advancements, through training.