How To make money on catfish farming -Here Are 13 Easy Ways to Start

Did you know there are more than one ways you can make massive money on catfish?
Catfish farming profits can vary from how you sell your fish, how you breed it, how you package it and so on. Even the smallest of changes can make a huge difference in maximising your profit ratio.

Here’s a sure-shot way on how to make money on catfish:

1. Export catfish.
2. Sell pre-cut and packaged catfish.
3. Use eggs instead of juveniles.
4. Sell juveniles.
5. Sell processed catfish.
6. Sell pre-prepared catfish dishes
7. Look for Bulk orders
8. Retail your fish directly to customers
9. Make a youtube channel
10. Give workshops about catfish breeding.
11. Write an ebook about catfishing.
12. Build your own outlet.
13. Invest in cold storage.

A flourishing business is one which gives good profits, while a Flourishing businessman is one who finds ways to maximise his profits. Here are some ways you can maximise your earnings even if you own a small scale catfish farming setup.

Export Catfish

Catfish is valued and eaten worldwide, although it is a delicacy most eaten in Africa and some Asian regions of the world. But with time, catfish has become popular seafood around the whole world, which is best enjoyed when it is slow-smoked, boiled and turned to soup, or deep-fried.

But how does exporting the fish result in more profits? Catfish are commonly grown in abundance in areas of Africa and some parts of the US. Hence in places, where the demand is high, but little to no supply of catfish is found, the price is at an all-time high.
The only drawback or tough thing about exporting is that you have to abide by every little protocol or rule the government of the country you are shipping your catch to, sets.

So you must strive to adhere to meet set standards as failure to abide by these standards are often met with punitive measures such as export bans and similar measures

Sell Pre-cut And Packaged Catfish.

While many sellers prefer to buy fresh fish, there is a massive demand for pre-cut and packaged catfish. This demand is not only restricted to retail homebuyers but also wholesale buyers like hotels and restaurants. Where the need for precut, washed and packaged fish is higher due to the demand for hygienic and quick to use meat that is easy to handle and cook.

Use Eggs Instead Of Juveniles

Typically, in a catfish farm, farmers breed catfish using baby catfish, also known as juvenile, which is barely 7 to 10 grams in weight and 4 to 7cm in length.
Catfish breeders buy these juveniles from another farm that deal in the breeding of juveniles.
Now if you want to
a). Cut down your cost
b). Make more profits
This is the perfect plan.
As evident, catfish juveniles are pricier than fish eggs, making your investment far less. However breeding the eggs to turn into juveniles is a task, which requires some investment but even with that, it’s going to give you profit.

Sell Juveniles

While you breed eggs into juveniles for your farm, if you want to double your profits, you can also sell some of the juveniles to other farmers who produce fish.
So now if you were breeding 100 juveniles, you can either double the number of eggs and breed 200 juveniles and sell half of them off. Or spawn 100 and sell one half off, depending on how much you are willing to invest.

Sell Processed Catfish

Another way to gain massive catfish farming profits is to process the fish before selling. Now there are a variety of ways you can add value to your catch via processing. Processing adds flavour and tends to elongate the shelf life of fish, making it super easy to use and handle. Other benefits include little to no smell and the icky texture of fresh fish that many at times are disliked.
The different types of processing include, salting or curing, drying, smoke drying, roasting, brining and boiling.

Sell Pre-prepared Catfish Dishes.

Heard about the famous smoked catfish pepper soup? With today’s fast-paced lives, more and more people are looking for easy, ready to eat meals. Not only this, there is a demand for more and more variety. While there is a massive demand for such products, there is very little supply, which means there is an excellent room for profits.

Related post: How to prepare Catfish Pepper soup

Also, this is good for those who have lesser means of investment and want to earn better profits from small scale catfish farming.
Instead of breeding more massive amounts of fish, you can invest that time into preparing dishes, like catfish soup, fried fish, fish balls, etc., packaging them and introducing them to local restaurants, bars, and even grocery stores.

Look For Bulk Orders.

Bulk buying can get your catch sold within hours, even if it may not give you the kind of rates one usually gets when selling per piece.
However, the only catch is that you will get a quick return for your investment.
For bulk orders, make a list, where you have everyone, including big restaurants, caterers, local market fishers, etc. who are consistent in buying the catch from you, without delay.
Keep each of them in the loop, at the time of harvesting your fish, and stick to whoever bids the best for your harvest.

Retail Your Fish Directly To Customers

While bulk or wholesale selling can get your catch sold within a few days or even hours, retail buying gets you better rates. It also eliminates the cost of the middlemen, who take away a big chunk of the profit.
To look for retail customers, market your product online, exhibit it at local bars, retail stores and grocers, at the least possible rates.
You can also opt to buy or rent a booth in the weekly local farmers market, for the best sale!

Make A Youtube Channel.

With each passing day, the power and influence of social media are getting stronger. From teaching skills to help earn money, through social media, you can do it all.
So if you are small on the capital, here’s how to make money from catfish farming, without having to breed tons of fish – Make a catfish breeding youtube channel.
You can use the platform to teach others how to breed fish, or just show the audience behind the scenes of catfish breeding.
The more the views on your video, the better profits it will generate.

Write An Ebook About Catfishing.

While many prefer to watch and learn, via youtube, there is a significant part of the world who loves to read and grasp the concepts.
To help people learn a new skill and gain some value-added profits for yourself, write a detailed how-to manual. It should include everything, from how to hatch fish eggs, juvenile breed fishes to full-size catfish, fish farming cost and profits and more.

Give Workshops About Catfish Breeding.

Some prefer to have hands-on experience to be able to learn better. And with time, as fish breeding is taking place even in some regions of the United States of America, more and more people are willing to learn how to breed fish and gain profits. And there is no better way to teach them, but by holding workshops where each individual has the freedom to see, question and learn from what actually happens behind the scenes, in a fish breeding farm.

Build Your Own Outlet.

It’s just like sampling your products in bars and restaurants. But in the case of opening your outlet, your profits will increase by a whopping 30%. Because no more profit cuts for restaurant and bar owners. Also, an outlet under you or your company’s name will help mark a strong position in the market as well as help build your brand’s identity.
Other than this, when it comes to buying seafood, whether fresh or processed, customers feel more confident when they see the product upfront.
It immediately increases the chances of a sale and is usually the first step towards making lifelong clients.

Invest In A Cold Storage

Freshness is an integral part of any seafood! And since fish is most prone to perishing, it is supposed to be kept under cold temperatures. For small scale, fish farming iceboxes and coolers, are typically used as cool storages, which can only save a limited catch, from rotting. However, in case of large scale fish farming, it is necessary to either hire or build your very own cold storage.

But how can small scale fish farming also benefit from investing in cold storage? Does it not cost too much?

Cool storages do cost a bit, but they are a good investment. First up they reduce the chance of rotting by 50%. Cold storages use good technology that does not let the catch rot. Whereas in a traditional icebox method, there is a high chance that the catch either doesn’t get enough cold or ends up being left outside due to low storage capacity.

The second thing that you can do to maximise your catfish farming profits, out of the same investment is by renting whatever extra space you have left in the cold storage to other small scale fish farmers.

Now that you know how to make money on catfish let’s go learn how to build a seafood restaurant!! (Link the article seafood restaurant article here)

You may also be interested in where to sell smoked catfish and get the best price