Introduction to Aquaculture

Aquaculture

• Aquaculture involves farming aquatic organisms like fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants.
• Fisheries is a sunrise sector in Indian agriculture

Indian Aquaculture

• India possesses an 8,129 km coastline.
• India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spans 2.02 million sq km.
• The East coast has 0.86 million sq km of the EEZ.
• The West coast has 0.56 million sq km of the EEZ.
• Around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands there is 0.60 million sq km of the EEZ.
• The continental shelf is 0.5 million sq km.
• The annual catchable marine potential is 3.93 million tons.

Water Body Types

• Freshwater has a salinity of less than 0.5 ppt (parts per thousand).
• Brackish water has a salinity of 0.5 to 30 ppt.
• Marine water has a salinity of more than 30 ppt.
• Stenohaline organisms are normal residents of a specific water type.
• Carp exemplify stenohaline freshwater fish.
• Sardine/mackerel are examples of stenohaline saltwater fish
• Euryhaline organisms, are found in brackish waters and tolerate wide salinity changes
• Mullet (Mugil cephalus) and mud-skippers (Periophthalmus) are euryhaline fish.
• Penaeus monodon is an example of crustaceans.
• Finfish and shellfish spend different life phases in sea, estuaries, and freshwater streams.

Fish Migration

• Anadromous fish migrate from saltwater to freshwater to spawn.
• Salmon, smelt, striped bass, shad, and sturgeon are examples of Anadromous fish
• Catadromous fish migrate from freshwater to the sea to spawn.
• True eels are an example of Catadromous fish

Freshwater Aquaculture

• In India the freshwater aquaculture systems primarily consist of three Indian major carps
  • Rohu
  • Catla
  • Mrigal
• Exotic species in freshwater aquaculture include:
  • Silver carp
  • Grass carp
  • Common carp
• Pangasius spp. farming is prevalent in Andhra Pradesh's Koleru lake region.
• Air-breathing catfish include Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis.
• Non-air-breathing catfish include Wallago attu, Mystus seenghala, Mystus aor, Horabagrus brachysoma, and Pangasius pangasius.
• Macrobrachium rosenbergii is a giant freshwater prawn.

Brackishwater Aquaculture

• Shrimp, specifically Penaeus monodon, mainly contributes to brackishwater aquaculture development.
• Other shrimp species not commercially cultured on a large scale include:
  • Fenneropenaeus indicus
  • Fenneropenaeus merguiensis
  • Penaeus pencillatus
  • Marsupenaeus japonicus
  • Penaeus semisulcatus
• Fenneropenaeus vannamie culture is recently developing in India.

Finfish Species Ideal for Aquaculture

• The seabass (Lates calcarifer), grouper (Epinephelus spp.), grey mullet (Mugil cephalus), pearl-spot (Etroplus suratensis), and milk fish (Chanos chanos) are ideal but underexploited.
• Potential marine finfish species include:
  • Epinephelus malabaricus
  • Epinephelus tauvina
  • Cromileptis altivelis
  • Rachycentron canadum
  • Seriola quinqueradiata
  • Trachinotus blochii
  • Coryphaena hippurus
  • Psettodes erumei
  • Lutjanus argentimaculatus
  • Pampus argenteus

Aquaculture Theories

• There are at least 4 theories that may explain the beginnings of aquaculture:
  • Oxbow
  • Catch-and-hold
  • Concentration
  • Trap-and-crop

Aquaculture History

• China is where aquaculture began, primarily using common carp (Cyprinus carpio).
• In 473 B.C., Fan Lai wrote "The Classic of Fish Culture," the earliest fish culture monograph.
• The Golden Age of common carp culture was 500BC – 500 AD.
• The Devonian period was considered the golden age of fishes
• During China’s Tang Dynasty, Emperor LI stopped common carp culture.
• The Namasollasa describes fish fattening in reservoirs during the Sung Dynasty.
• Methods for culturing fry to adult occurred during the Ming Dynasty.
• Further culture operations developed during the Ching Dynasty.
• Cage culture along the Mekong River developed in Kampuchea.
• Early brackish water aquaculture began in Indonesia.
• "A Manual of Fish Culture" was published in North America in 1897, by the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries.
• In India, Kautilya's "Artha Shastra" (around 300 B.C.) described poisonous fish in tanks during war.
• King Someswara recorded common Indian sport fishes and grouped them into marine/freshwater forms in his book Manasoltara (1127 AD).
• During British rule in India, sport fisheries developed through the introduction of trouts in the hill streams of Nilgris, Kashmir, and Kulu valley.
• In 1911, the Madras fisheries department constructed the first scientifically designed fish farm at Sunkesula in Krishna district (Andhra Pradesh).
• Indian scientists had initial success inducing breeding of Indian major carp through hypophysation in 1957, while the Chinese succeeded with Chinese carp in 1958.
• Freshwater aquaculture development in India was established after the Pond Culture Division was established at Cuttack in 1949, later named the Center of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), West Bengal.
• The All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on 'Brackishwater Fish Farming' was initiated by ICAR in 1973.
• AICRP on composite fish culture and seed production was initiated in 1971.
• The first attempt on mariculture in India was made at the Mandapam centre of CMFRI in 1958–1959 with milkfish (Chanos chanos) culture.
• CMFRI initiated a pearl culture program in 1972.
• Aquaculture is sometimes called ‘Underwater Agriculture’.

Aquaculture Systems

• Carps are the most cultured species worldwide.
• Aquaculture has various advantages and disadvantages.

Systems by Salinity:

• Freshwater farming
• Brackishwater farming
• Marinewater farming

Farming Systems by Intensity:

• Extensive fish farming
• Semi-intensive fish farming
• Intensive fish farming

Systems by Fish Species:

• Monoculture
• Polyculture

Systems by Enclosure:

• Pond culture
• Cage culture
• Pen culture
• Race-way culture

Farming Systems by Integration:

• Agriculture cum fish farming
• Animal husbandry cum fish farming
• Common fish species in Indian polyculture:
  • Catla
  • Rohu
  • Mrigal
  • Silver carp
  • Grass carp
  • Common carp.
• The system is sometimes called composite fish culture.

Culture in Enclosures

• Pond culture is the most common type.
• Cage culture began in Kampuchea (present – Cambodia), enclosed on all sides including the bottom while permitting free water circulation.
• Pen culture in Indonesia/Japan is enclosed on all sides except the bottom, permitting free water circulation.
• Raceways involve culturing fish in running water.
• Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) treat and reuse water with less than 10% water replacement per day.
• Rice fish integration involves varieties with strong root systems like Tulsi, Panidhan, CR260 77, ADT 6, ADT7, Rajarajan and Pattambi 15 and 16; plus fish species like common carp, tilapia, and murrels.
• Agaricus bisporus, Voloriella spp., and Pleurotus spp. are commercially cultivated mushrooms in India

Integrated Farming

• Cow dung is the most widely used manure in fish ponds.
• 4,000-5,000 kg dung and 3,500-4,000 liters of urine are produced annually.
• For a 1 ha pond with 5-6 cows, fish production ranges from 3,000-4,000 kg fish/ha/year.
• In pig-fish integrated farming, 60-100 pigs are used.
• The waste produced by 30-35 pigs is equivalent to 1 tonne of ammonium sulfate.
• Exotic breeds like White Yorkshire, Landrace, and Hampshire are reared in this farming system.
• Grass carp, silver carp, and common carp (1:2:1 ratio) are suitable for integrated farming with pigs.
• Poultry-fish integrated farming uses chicken droppings, rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, as an effective fertilizer.
• 90,000 to 1,00,000 eggs and 2500 kg meat can be produced along with 3000 – 4500 kg of fish, using 2500 chickens
• Duck-fish integration uses duck droppings containing 25% organic and 20% inorganic substances like carbon, phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and calcium, as a great fertilizer source.
• Organic salmon was first successfully launched in Germany.
• In continental Europe, organic trout production became successful.
• A big organic Pangasius catfish project started in Vietnam led by a Germany-based seafood company
• Organic tilapia farming commenced in Israel and Ecuador.
• In the Mediterranean, seabass and seabream farms were converted to organic management.
• INDOCERT is an Indian certification body accredited as per the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), Govt. of India.
• INDOCERT offers certifications for the domestic market based on National Standards for Organic Production and for export markets based on USDA standards.
• Soil texture and porosity/permeability are important properties to examine.
• Silt clay, clay-loam, and loamy soils are generally suitable for fish ponds.
• In porous soil, the pond bottom is treated with bentonite, clay, or other soil sealants and plastic film liners to reduce seepage.
• A water temperature between 20°C and 30°C is generally good for fish farming.
• Topography of the land determines the type of pond to be constructed.
• The land selected for farming should have a slope not steeper than two percent.
• The ideal pond shape should be rectangular with a length to breadth proportion of 3:1.
• The breadth should not exceed 30-50 meters.
• Total fish farm should consist of:
  • Nursery pond (5% of the total area)
  • Rearing pond (20% of the total area)
  • Stocking ponds (70% of the total area)
  • Bio pond or treatment pond (5% of the total area).
• A nursery pond is used for spawn (3-day old larvae) to fry (2-3 cm), size of pond-0.01 to 0.05 ha and rearing is done for 15-20 days with a depth of 1-1.5 m.
• A rearing pond is used for fry (2-3cm) to fingerling (10-15cm), size of pond 0.05 – 0.1 ha and rearing is done for 2to 3 months with a depth of 1.5 to 2m
• Stocking ponds are 1 to 2 ha in size, 2.5m in depth and the period is 6 to 10 months for 10-15cm fingerlings to growout size.
• Biopond or treatment pond area covers 7-10% of the total productive area of a fish farm and functions to treat the water biologically.
• Staff quarters, hatchery, and nursery ponds are built on the elevated side, while stocking ponds are built in deeper areas for ease of work and reduced manual labor.
• Ponds are constructed in two ways: dug out pond and embankment pond constructed from low ground.
• For dyke construction, use a soil containing 15-30% silt, 45-55% sand, and 30-35% clay.
• The berm should be sufficiently wide and no less than 1 m.
• The slope of the embankment in horizontal to vertical axis should be 2:1 in good quality clay soil and 3:1 in loamy silt or sandy soils.
• Different outlet canals or draining systems
  • Rivaldi valve
  • Sluice (functions as both inlet and outlet canal)
  • Monk
• Pre-stocking management involves preparation of pond, eradication of undesirable fishes/aquatic weeds, liming, water filling, basal manuring, and fertilization.
• Pond drying, dewatering, desilting, and bottom mud excavation are best done during February-April.
• The slope of the dike should be 1:2 of the pond depth.
• top of the pond dike should be 3 feet wide.
• Control of aquatic weeds, which can be floating, submerged, or emergent.
• Rotenone is a fish toxicant with @2-3ppm toxicity lasting for 10 to 12 days
• Tea seed cake is used @75 to 100 ppm (saponin content 5 to 10 ppm).
• Mahua oil cake (Basica latifolia) has 250ppm or 2500kg/ha toxicity lasting 10-15 days, containing 4 to 6 % saponin.

Liming Uses:

• Destroys fish pathogens and their intermediate life stages
• Converts unsuitable acidic water to a suitable alkaline condition
• Neutralizes undesirable iron compounds in fish ponds
• Promotes soil mineralization
• Serves both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes
• Pond treatment before initial manuring

Manuring

• Use organic and inorganic manures
• Apply at 20-30kg/ha
• Super phosphate at 10-15kg/ha
• The best time for manuring is morning with 9-10 o’clock
• Manure/fertilizer application in late afternoon or evening may cause oxygen depletion.
• During fully cloudy and rainy days, manuring has to be suspended.
• Post-stocking management includes prophylactic treatment measures like giving the fish a dip in potassium permanganate at 250-500ppm.

Selecting Aquaculture Species

Consider:

• Short food chain
• Adaptation to climate
• Consumer liking
• Resistance to common fish diseases and parasites
• Amiability to live together
• Catla is more susceptible to Lernea infection; rainbow trout (RBT) is more resistant than brown trout (BT) to IPN virus

Major Cultivable Freshwater Fishes

• IMC – INDIAN MAJOR CARPS
• CATLA
• ROHU
• MRIGALA
• Fecundity is the number of ova likely laid by a fish during the spawning season.

Catla

• Common name: Catla
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Sub Phylum: Vertebrata
• Class: Actinopterygii
• Order: Cypriniformes
• Family: Cyprinidae
• Genus: Labeo
• Species: Catla
• Scientific Name: Labeo Catla
• The body is deep, head is large and conspicous.
• Mouth is large/upturned.
• Lips are nonfringed
• No barbles, greenish dorsally silvery on sides/ventrally
• Big head, strong fins, high body depth, big scales
• Surface feeder, filters plankton (zooplankton), gill rakers filter specific food organisms
• Fecundity: High (2-4.2 lakh), maturity in 2nd year

Rohu

• Physical appearance includes small and pointed head.
• The mouth is terminal.
• The intraorbital space is flat.
• Scales are light red in color.
• Column feeder.
• It eats both phytoplankton and zooplankton.
• Consdered the tastiest of all the carps
• It has ranged fecundity of 2 to 5 lakhs.

Mrigala

• Physical appearance includes a narrow and linear body.
• The head is small and the snout is blunt.
• The mouth is terminal.
• Lips are thin and non-fringed.
• the Dorsal fin has 12-13 branched rays.
• Body is bright silvery in color.
• Tip of the head is flattened and upper jaw is fringed.
• It consumes both plant and animal materials, but consumes more of decaying organic & vegetable matter.
• Fecundity from 4-12 lakhs.

Major vs Minor Carp Distinctions

• Minor carps:
  • Calbasu (Labeo Calbasu)
  • Fringe-lipped carp (Labeo fimbriatus)
  • White carp (Cirrhinus cirrhosa)
• Silver carp has small silvery scales.
• The head is small and cylindrical and the mouth is small and upturned.
• It feeds mainly on phytoplankton present in water surface.
• The rate of filtration of water is around 32 L per day.
• It breeds by the end of the 2nd year.

Grass Carp

• The body is cylindrical and elongate, snout is rounded, upper jaw is slightly longer than the lower jaw. Scales are medium sized and are light greenish
• Known as 'living green manuring machine'
• The fecundity rate is up to 6,18,000.

Common carp

• Physical apperance includes a deep body
• Short head, scales are large & mouth is terminal.
• Two pairs of barbles are present on the lips.
• Scales are prominent, dorsal fin is long, lateral line is complete and teeth is absent
• Head and belly are big.
• It is omnivorous in food habit, eating zooplankton, insect larvae, warms, mollusks and submerged plants and high fecundity with adhesive eggs.

Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)

Cat Fishes

• Magur (Clarias batrachus)
• Singhi (Heteropneustes fossilis)