Freshwater Aquaculture

Dr. Binu Varghese

Assistant Professor, KUFOS
“Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic
organisms, including fish, molluscs,
crustaceans and aquatic plants. Farming
implies some form of intervention in the
rearing process to enhance production,
such as regular stocking, feeding,
protection from predators, etc. Farming
also implies individual or corporate
ownership of the stock being cultivated.”

SOURCE: FAO FISHERIES CIRCULAR NO. 815 REVISION 8, 1996

 Background
• Aquaculture is the fastest growing food-producing sector.

• Annual growth rate nearly 7 % worldwide.

• Aquatic foods have high nutritional quality.

• Contributing 20 % or more of average per capita animal protein

intake for more than 2.8 billion people, mostly from developing
countries.

• Aquaculture is threatened by changes in temperature,

precipitation, drought, storms/floods
 Importance of aquaculture
• Food (protein, essential nutrients, minerals)
• Good source of income
• Potential export earner
• Food security
• Other products
• Pharmaceutical, Neutraceutical, cosmetics
 Aquaculture
1) Type of aquatic organisms
Animals & plants
2) Environment
Freshwater, brackishwater, saltwater
3) Type of culture techniques or systems
Pond, raceway, cage, pen, raft
4) Specific character of environment
Cold-water, warm-water, upland, inland, coastal,
estuarine
 Aquacultured items
• Fish (ponds, tanks, cages, raceways, RAS,
integrated pond systems).

• Molluscs (bottom, pole, rack, raft, long-

line systems also culture based fisheries).

• Crustaceans (pond, tank, raceway,

culture based fisheries).
 Uses of aquacultured products
• Food —finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic plants.

• Baitfish —Goldfish, golden shiner

• Sport fish —Mahseer, Carps

• Ornamentals—Guppy, Tetra

• Feeder fish —goldfish, shiner, minnow

• Biological supply houses

 Species Selection
• Producer’s expertise
• Water supply and climate
• Species biology
• Marketability
• Production methods
• Production economics
 What to grow?
• Carps
• Tilapia
• Pearlspot
• Catfish
• Anabas
• Freshwater Prawn
• Pacu
• Snakeheads
• Seabass
• Tropical aquarium fish
• And the list goes on…
 Intensity of culture
• Extensive culture: low intensity aquaculture
providing only small increases over natural
productivity. Extensive fish culture systems have
low stocking densities, don’t use rearing units
specifically engineered for aquaculture, and don’t
involve artificial diets.

• Intensive culture: fish culture methods yielding far

in excess of natural productivity levels. Intensive
systems utilize high stocking rates, man-made
rearing units and artificial diets.
 Aquaculture systems
• Pond culture: system based on earthen ponds, where
some or all of the food consumed is from natural
production and there is minimal water flow.
• Raceway Culture: system based on circular or straight
raceways (tanks) with high water flow and minimal
water reuse.
• Cage Culture: system in which fish are confined to net
pens or cages placed in ponds, rivers, lakes, or ocean.
• Tank Culture Utilizing Water Recirculation: tank
culture system where nearly 100% of the water is
reused and cleansed by sophisticated filtration
systems.
 Aquaculture systems
Water-based systems (cages and pens, inshore/
offshore).

Land-based systems (ponds, irrigated or flow-through

systems, tanks and raceways).

Recycling systems (high control enclosed systems,

more open pond based recirculation).

Integrated farming systems (e.g. livestock-fish,

agriculture and fish dual use aquaculture and irrigation
ponds).
 Production Status (FAO 2016)
• In 2014, overall fish production was 167.2 million tonnes.
(93.4 million capture + 73.8 million aquaculture).
• World capture fisheries output was 93.4 million tonnes
(81.5 M + 11.9 F.W). China, Indonesia, U.S, Russia, Japan,
Peru ,India. India is now at 7th.
• Aquaculture production reached 73.8 million tonnes
(47.1L +26.7M). China, Indonesia, India. India now in 3rd.
• World per capita fish supply reached a new high of 20 kg
in 2014. India its about 8 Kg.
• 2014 was the first year in which human consumption of
aquaculture products exceeded that of products from
wild fisheries.
 s

Soruce : FAO, 2016

 World Aquaculture Production

Soruce : FAO, 2016

Soruce : FAO, 2016
Soruce : FAO, 2016
 2015 estimates
• 2015 is likely to see a small rebound in wild catches from
the 2014 El Niño-related shortfall to 90.6 million tonnes.

• Expecting a aquaculture production to 78 million tonnes.

• Fish production is forecast to reach 168.6 million tonnes

in 2015, up 2.6 per cent from the previous year.

• Value of fish trade is estimated to have reached a record

US$143.9 billion in 2014. However, the value of trade is
forecast to grow only modestly to $144.5 billion in 2015
 aquaculture and opportunities

produce aqua-feeds transport fry, fish & access to

operate a hatchery produce fish feeds
fish trader affordable fish

seed
feed mill farmer transporter retailer consumer
feedstuffs

grow feed
ingredient crops
 Careers in Aquaculture
• Farm Owner & Laborer • Aquatic Veterinarian
• Extension Agent • Aquatic Hardware Design
• Consultants • Mission Work
• Retailer • Chemical Research
• Wholesaler • Geneticist/Biotechnology
• Marketing • Feed Research
• Scientific Research • Processing Facility
• Hatchery • Medical Research
• Teacher • State Inspector
• College Professor
POND CULTURE
RUNNING WATER SYSTEM
http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Ictalurus_punctatus/en

RACEWAY CULTURE
CAGE CULTURE
PEN CULTURE
RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS (RAS)
 Integrated Farming

http://www.thebaobabtrust.com/projects.html

Fish - Duck farming Poultry - Fish farming

Rice - Fish farming Poultry - Fish - Rice

Model of an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture
(IMTA) system

Seaweed Mussels

Salmon

Sea cucumber
 IMTA and Polyculture
POLYCULTURE IMTA

Opinions on the difference between polyculture and IMTA:

• In IMTA species are feeding on different level of the food
chain (fed fish, extractive filter feeders e.g. mussels);
• IMTA is a “precision aquaculture” system, while nutrient
efficiency of polyculture is far from optimal.
Nutrient flow in a monoculture and an IMTA

MONOCULTURE IMTA

Feed Conversion Ration (FCR) Food Assimilation Trophic Transfer

Integrated Efficiency Ratios (FATTIER)

Source: Chopin., 2011

 The development of integrated aquaculture

Freshwater Marine aquaculture

aquaculture

Polyculture IMTA
Profitability
Fish-duck/pig (nutrient efficiency)
Experience
Fish-rice
R&D
Modelling
“Sewage fishponds”
Planning
Environment protection
Management
“Aquaculture- Treatment of effluent of (nutrient efficiency and
Regulations rotation” coastal ponds by mussels retention)
Partitioned systems Culture of
Aquaponic units seaweed/mussels Social acceptability
Combined around marine cages (resource efficiency,
and enclosures food safety etc.)
Intensive-Extensive
Systems IMTA
Aquaponics
 Eradication of predators
• Various predatory/weed fishes besides predatory animals
like snakes, tortoises, frogs, birds, etc.

• Dewatering and drying the ponds.

• Mahua oil cake @ 2,500 kg/ha. It also serves as organic

manure after decomposition and adds to productivity.

• Application of commercial bleaching powder (30%

chlorine) at dosage of 350 kg/ha is effective in killing the
fishes. The quantity of bleaching powder can be reduced
to half with the combination of urea @100 kg/ha, applied
18-24 hours before the bleaching powder application.
 Control of aquatic insects:
Application of soap-oil emulsion (cheap
vegetable oil @ 56 kg/ha with 1/3 its weight of
any cheap soap) is a simple and effective
method to kill the aquatic air-breathing insects.

Kersoene @100-200 l or diesel @75 l and liquid

soap @ 560 ml or detergent powder @ 2-3 kg
per hectare water area can be used as substitute
to make the emulsion.
 Problems in aquaculture
• Lack of skilled labour
• Environmental issues – pollution, climate
• Land & water resources
• Feed (Fish meal, fish oil)
• Diseases
• Food safety & quality
• Seed production (High quality)
THANK YOU