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Besides, unlike some animal protein sources, fish and fish by-products are widely accepted among various social, cultural, and religious backgrounds.

Consequently, aquaculture helps curb the high rate of malnutrition occasioned by undernourishment in most rural setups (particularly in Africa) since the superior nutrition in fish improves health by providing food and supporting both mental and physical development and functioning.

This rural aquaculture plays a major role in improving livelihoods, enhancing social equity, advancing gender equality, contributing to global food production (food and nutritional security), and promoting regional economies. Most of the aquaculture productions in developing countries are practiced in rural areas using semi-intensive fish pond culture systems. This is to enable fish farmers to make an informed decision on identifying and selecting proper biofertilizer, which can increase yields and cut costs of production, thus maximizing profits and improving resource utilization. Therefore, this study reviews the concept of vermiculture vis-à-vis pond fertilization and the various utilizations of the vermicompost in fish farming. Nonetheless, the application of vermicompost fertilizer in aquaculture is still not a common practice. Besides, the vermicompost contains humic acid, which has antibiotic properties, and promotes fish gut health, stress management, and immune systems. Vermicompost fertilizer (excrete of earthworms) has been recognized as a potential pond fertilizer because it has superior nutritional quality (of up to five times), contains microbes, and is in ready-for-uptake form. Apart from supplying nutrients to the phytoplankton, organic manures supply food directly to zooplankton and fish, provide substrate for microbes and improve water and pond sediment quality. With the increased sustainability and health concerns with artificial fish feeds and chemical fertilizers, organic manure has been credited as a cheap, safe and sustainable alternative source of aquaculture nutrition.

Semi-intensive aquaculture using ponds is among the most common practices of fish production, whose output depends highly on the ponds’ natural primary productivity.