Assessment on the Status of prawn pond at Kwetu Training Centre

Abstract

A survey of the physical parameters in the prawn farm (pond) at Kwetu Training Centre was carried out on 16th May 2000 on request from the Centre. The small-scale farm was started in 1997. The farm is situated behind the mangrove swamp on the edge of Mtwapa Creek, about 003°57'8 039°43'N (GP8 reading). It was built by raising a dyke around a natural basin (salt pan) that is inundated on flood tides and dried out with ebbs. The farm is therefore directly filled and emptied with tidal gravity. It took 40 men about four months to construct the 0.8ha pond. The pond has one sluice controlled gate through which water is allowed in and let out. This gate is also useful during harvesting. Water is changed once every fortnight (every spring) except the first month of stocking when the water change is once in a month to allow for the stocked fry to acclimatise with conditions in the pond. The pond is presently stocked with 24,000 post larval prawns since early March 2000, being the fourth effective flushing. Chicken manure (droppings) is applied in the pond twice monthly (about 200kg every spring tide) to fertilize the pond. Lime is spread along the pond edges to reduce acidity in the pond.