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Fish farming involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. The major freshwater farming environments in India are pond, cage, pen, rice field, sewage feed and air breathing. Polyculture is the dominant culture system practiced. The major species are carp, freshwater prawn and catfish.
Basically Gambia’s aquaculture is carp-oriented and the contribution of other species is marginal. Fish culture can be classified as extensive, semi-intensive or intensive and stocking rate is high.
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
Preparing the Pond
The optimum size of the pond is rectangular with size varying from in several hectares with a depth ranging from 2.0 -3.0 metres.
Soil and water
The soil type in the pond and its fertility status very much in our country. However the best soil for the fish pond for the fresh water fishes especially the carps is alluvial soil with neutral pH ranging between 6.5 to 7.5. Though the soil type cannot be changed except in the long range plans, the pH has to be brought to neutral if the pond soil and water are saline, alkaline, sodic or acidic.
Aquatic Weeds
Most of the aquatic weeds in the fish pond are undesirable. They not only take away the nutrients but also upset the oxygen balance in the water by releasing carbon dioxide into the pond during the night. Aquatic weeds also obstruct the movement of fishes as well as the netting operations. The aquatic weeds may be free floating surface weeds, submerged weeds, rooted emergent weeds, marginal shallow water weeds and algae. All these weeds have to be eradicated.
Unwanted Fishes
The unwanted fishes in the ponds may be predatory or weed fishes. They compete with cultured fish for feed, nutrients and space. These predatory and weed fishes can be eliminated through repeated netting of the pond. Another method of eradicating the above mentioned unwanted fishes is to drain out the whole water from the pond and eliminating all of them manually and refill the pond with water. In big fisheries the only effective method of eradicating the unwanted fishes is the use of fish toxicants.
Fertilizer Application in the Pond.
Maximum fish production is achieved by the efficient soil and water management in the fish pond especially by maintaining the natural productivity of the pond. The natural productivity is maintained by the regular manuring and fertilizer application in the pond so that all essential nutrients for the growth of aquatic micro and small organisms (both plant and animal types) are supplied which directly or indirectly serve as feed for the fishes. Liming and manuring are the two main types of fertilization of the fish pond.
Selection and Stocking of Carps
About 15-20 days after the initial manuring selected species of the carps are introduced into the pond. When several species of fishes are reared together in the same pond in an intensive way it is called composite fish culture.
Depending on the number of species the ratio of the species will vary. Generally six carp species are reared together. They are: Catla, Rohu, Mrigal, Silver Carp, Grass Carp and Common Carp.
Stocking Size
The survival of the fingerlings introduced into a particular pond depends very much on their size: bigger the size greater will be the survival rate and vice versa. The fingerlings stocked should have a size of 10 to 15 cm.
Time of stocking
If any toxicant material for the eradication of the unwanted fish has been used then stocking /of the fish should be done only after the toxicant effect is completely over. Generally by two to three weeks the toxicant effect will be over. From the temperature point of view the best time to stock the pond will be- when the water in the pond is within the optimum range of 20 to 30ocentigrade. Obviously temperatures below 18o C and above 30°C will affect the growth of the fish. Hence stocking is avoided in winter and summer months.
Feeding of Carps
Feeds for the carps may be of two types: natural feeds and artificial feeds. The natural growth of flora and fauna in the pond can be increased by regular manuring. commmercial fish rearing cannot be successful if one depends only on the natural feed generation. Hence supplementary feeding should be provided to the carps. The feeding of carps also is easier as they can be fed on most of the by-products like rice polish, wheat bran, oil cakes, vegetable wastes and other farm wastes.
Water Management
In the water management first of all proper depth of the water should be maintained always in the pond. An average depth of 6.5 to 10ft depth should be maintained in the case of six species composite fish culture. Care should be taken to avoid decomposition of large amount of organic matter at the bottom of the pond. In intensive fish culture such accumulation of organic matter is inevitable. It can be removed every year after draining out the water, from the pond.
Harvesting and Marketing
Harvesting can be done either by partially draining water out of the pond through an outlet point, or by repeat netting. It is preferable when the fish attain an average weight of 750 grams, though common species can attain weight in excess of a few kilos. Farmers sell their catch in local markets. Fish is a perishable commodity and cannot be kept for a long period of time without proper arrangements of preserving them. Big farmers sell their catch to wholesalers, who pass it on to local suppliers from whom the retailers buy.
