Application of anaesthetics in fish hatcheries to promote broodstock and fish seed welfare in Zambia

This study investigated the application of anaesthetics in 23 private and government-owned hatcheries in 10 provinces of Zambia. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research designs and used a structured questionnaire to collect data from the respondents. The results showed that most hatcheries (65%) were not using anaesthetics in handling fish and all (100%) that were using anaesthetics (35%) used clove powder as the only type. Most respondents (61%) were not sure or did not have information about the availability of the anaesthetic substances in their localities while only 26% reported wider availability but 13% had a divergent claim. The mortality rate for fingerlings in hatcheries that applied anaesthetics ranged between 15-30% with consistently high demand while those that did not use anaesthetics reported mortality rates of more than 50% and had low demand. The majority of the respondents (53%) had received training up to certificate level, followed by those who had attained up to a diploma qualification (27%) while those that attained up to a degree (13%) and general skills (7%) levels were in the minority. Furthermore, most respondents (35%) did not know the importance of fish anaesthetics. We conclude that the use of fish anaesthetics in Zambian hatcheries is very low and could partly be the cause of high fingerling mortalities, and there is an urgent need to address the situation.