Title: Exploring the biological and socio-economic potentials of Rhamphochromis species for the expansion of Malawian aquaculture.

The biological & socioeconomic potentials were explored to determine if Rhamphochromis species (cichlids) are suitable for cage aquaculture in Malawi. Structured questionnaires were used to explore socio-economic parameters and literature was reviewed to explore biological parameters. All variables from questionnaires were collapsed into principal component analysis (PCA) to create response variables PC1 and PC2 which were then used with a generalized linear mixed-effect model (GLMM). The results showed a highly significant effect among fish species with R. brevis selected with the highest mean score from the model. All stakeholders agreed on selecting R. brevis as a species with high preference and good taste, with a big size and highly valued and marketable, but they differed on their opinions of other fish species. Despite a lack of biological information about Rhamphochromis sp., they are known to be deep-water piscivores which are maternal mouthbrooders and substrate spawners with no defined spawning period. This report, therefore, concluded that Rhamphochromis sp. and especially R. brevis, might have the socioeconomic and biological potential to be suitable for cage aquaculture development, but further research is needed to confirm this.