To target development efforts, the technological options for investments in Clarias gariepinus hatchery systems were compared for cost, average weight, number of fingerlings harvested, survival and profitability in periurban Yaoundé, Cameroon. Costs were proportional to the level of intensity of production, with labour accounting for about 70% of the total. Profitability was similar among systems, with highly variable survival being a key constraint. Overall, system profitability was most strongly influenced by the number of fingerlings harvested per m2, regardless of individual average weight. Focusing extension effort on farmers with the capacity to intensify is thus more likely to produce sectoral growth in the short term.