Chapter 1

Need of best management practices

for freshwater ornamental sh
production
Atul Kumar Jain
 Best Management Practices A set of guidelines to be followed by
freshwater ornamental sh producers

Workplace and
workers safety
- Proper storage of
hazardous materials
- Presence of safety equipment
- First aid kits
- Operational ease
and safety
Site selection
- Planned designing
- Resource availability
- Quality construction
- Cost eectiveness Commercial production
- Quality brood stock
- Ecient breeding practices
- Successful rearing
- High survival

Packaging
- Proper packaging
Centres of
- Acclimatization
- Sterilization of packing
BMP Water quality
- Abundant availability
material - Quality monitoring
- Proper handling Inputs - Proper storage
- Re-circulation

Bio-security
- Environmental safe-guard Feed monitoring
- Minimization of risk - Nutritional requirement
- Pathogen exclusion - High acceptability
- Isolation and labelling - Proper storage
Health management
- Disease control - Use of live feeds
- Quarantine measures
- Application of proper
medicines
- Recording health history

2 Best Management Practices for Freshwater Ornamental Fish Production

 Need of best management practices for freshwater ornamental sh production

The ornamental sh industry is considered as a sleeping giant in India. It is

stated so because of the reasons that the we are blessed with a huge
biodiversity of freshwater ornamental sh, large availability of
natural freshwater resources distributed throughout the country
India is known in and suitability of agro-climatic conditions for captive breeding of
international many varieties of ornamental sh all round the year not only
along 8129 km long coast-line but also in semi-arid environment
ornamental sh
of inland states. India has been exporting some unique varieties
trade for its wild of wild caught ornamental sh to many developed countries of
caught sh the world since 1969. But, our contribution to global export of
ornamental sh remains only 0.32% of a total of US$ 362 million
(FAO,2012). It is insignicant compared to other Asian countries
that entered in the trade only recently. They
command a sizable share of global market through
export of captive bred sh few of which are of
Indian origin e.g. Sahyadria denisonii , an
important sh of Western Ghats.
The captive bred freshwater exotic ornamental
sh from India are not preferred in the global
market because these are considered to be of
inferior grade in terms of quality. Due to the lack of
standard quarantine facilities and protocols, we are not able to develop
brand image in the international market. A captive bred sh from India when
imported by a Singapore buyer and re-exported to developed countries is
accepted but not if exported directly.This is because of the lack of brand
image.

Best Management Practices for Freshwater Ornamental Fish Production 3

Need of best management practices for freshwater ornamental sh production

The hobby of ornamental sh keeping is gaining popularity in the country

and it is estimated that about 1.25% of the urban house-holds are keeping
an aquarium. The total value of domestic aquarium trade has reached about
Rs.300 crore with a potential to grow to Rs.1200 crore. The
aquarium shops which were earlier limited to metro cities are now The Indian
seen even in big towns with approximately 5000 outlets. The
ornamental sh
ornamental sh production which was earlier limited to Kolkata,
Chennai and Mumbai is now extended to other parts of the industry is
country with more than 5000 units. However, the demand becoming vibrant
pattern of domestic trade is different from that of international and needs
trade. It is mainly (90%) the captive bred freshwater sh which is
institutional
in large demand in the domestic market. The Indian ornamental
sh industry is passing through a transitional phase presently and support for further
is slowly becoming vibrant that needs institutional support for growth.
further growth.
The National Fisheries Development Board (Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare, Government of India), Hyderabad organized a one - day
brain-storming session on Ornamental Fisheries Development in India on
29th February, 2016 with the objective of identifying the priority areas for
the proposed institutional initiatives at NFDB on ornamental sh and to set
an agenda and ensuring participation for the proposed national
consultation. It was attended by fourteen invited participants who included
subject matter experts, scientists, academicians, entrepreneurs, exporters
and administrators. The participants were engaged in group discussions in
four technical sessions viz:
I. Ornamental sh breeding and culture for income generation and
livelihood for the poor and women,
ii. Opportunities in growth of export trade,
iii. Protection of wild stock and biodiversity conservation,
iv. Role of cooperative societies, SHGs and NGOs.
The group members identied the priority areas, major challenges and role
of NFDB to support the priorities identied in each technical session.
Subsequently, a National Consultation on Ornamental Fish was conducted
th th
at NFDB, Hyderabad on 27 and 28 April, 2016. The agenda, format and
participants for the National Consultation were based on the ndings of the
earlier one-day brainstorming session. The two-days National
Consultation was aimed at identifying the priorities for the NFDB and
setting a road map of activities for it. The participants included a much
larger representation from all the sectors of ornamental sheries. A total of
eight consultation themes were identied and participants were distributed
and re-distributed into eight groups. One of the identied themes was Best
Management Practices and code of conduct in ornamental sh industry.
The group participants discussed at large the various issues related to the
theme for half a day and presented the outcome of the discussion to all the
participants of national consultation incorporating all the useful
suggestions.

4 Best Management Practices for Freshwater Ornamental Fish Production

 Need of best management practices for freshwater ornamental sh production

The overall conclusion of the National Consultation related to this specic

theme was that there was near lack of regulatory processes/regimes in the
country to ensure quality of products and services in ornamental sh culture
and trade. This lacuna not only hits the consumers and farmers, but also
tarnishes the image and credibility of the country in the overseas market.
There is an urgent need to put in place regulatory regimes to ensure quality
control and sustainability in all operations. A Code of Conduct (CoC) needs
to be in place to be followed by all players: the producers, traders and
hobbyists voluntarily. Equally important is development of a set of Best
Management Practices (BMPs) for the sector.
The purpose of BMP will be to ensure (a) environmental safeguards, (b)
quality of products, (c) high protability, (d) sustainability of stock and
trade, (e) meeting the requirement of certifying agencies, (f)
workers' health and safeguards, (g) meeting product certication
There is need of standards, (g) bio-security, (h) cost effectiveness and cost
BMPs for reduction. BMPs should be met at different critical points such as
improving quality design of hatchery & production units, water management
practices, culture units, quarantine units, therapeutics, feed and
and quantity of
feeding management, harvesting, packaging & transportation,
ornamental sh. and marketing. Whereas the Research Institutes should give the
inputs for developing BMP and Code of Conduct, NFDB will
facilitate creation of a platform that encourages voluntary
adoption of such norms. It was with this background that the task of
developing a document was initiated on Best Management Practices for
Ornamental Fish Production which could be of use to producers to
optimize the production in an environmentally sustainable manner and to
facilitate developmental & regulatory agencies to formulate developmental
schemes and control mechanism.

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Best Management Practices for Freshwater Ornamental Fish Production 5

Need of best management practices for freshwater ornamental sh production

What is BMP?
BMPs could be described as a set of practices, techniques, methods and processes either
individually or in any combination of these, when applied to any production system such as
Ornamental Fish Productionresults in:
Improving and optimizing the use of all available resources,
Standardization of production and operational processes,
Improvement in the quality of product & optimization of outputs,
Economizing the cost of all inputs,
Ensuring sustainability of the production system,
Safety of people involved in carrying the operation,
Ensuring bio-security and safety of surrounding environment.
The BMP could be an addition of new structure or a change or a modication in the existing
structure, improvement in the operational plan and application of certain tools &
technologies which involves less cost and high effectiveness.

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6 Best Management Practices for Freshwater Ornamental Fish Production