TRADITIONAL AQUACULTURE PRACTICES IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION • Fishing and aquaculture practices in India has a long history.• Kautilya’s “Arthashasthra”(BC. 321-300) and King

Someswara’s “Manasoothra”(A.D1127) refer about the fish cultural practices.

• In eastern India , hundreds of years ago the culturing of fishes on small ponds was practiced.

• Brackish water aquaculture also an age old practice• Comprises Bhery or Bhasa-badha fishery in West Bengal and

Pokkali shrimp farming in Kerala.• These practices not use any additional knowledge and

Technologies rather than trapping of naturally breeded juveniles of fishes and prawns.

CORRENTLY USED TRADITIONAL WAYS

• Three types1. Paddy cultivation during rainy season (June-

September) followed by fish or shrimp culture. eg: Pokkali

2. Fish or Prawn culture through out the year. This is on deep fields on eastern India

3. Paddy come fish culture. Mainly on W. Bengal and Goa.

BHERY CULTURE OR BHASA-BADHA FISHERIES

• Traditional practices on W.Bengal• The low laying areas of Sunderben region.• Bheries : They are chiefly large perenial water bodies• surrounded by earthen dykes which are constructed by borrowing

earth form the trenches excavated inside the bheries near the toe line of the dykes.

• The bheries are deeper and larger in extent than the pokkali fields of Kerala.

• These fields have sluices on marginal bandhs.• During high tide the sea water enters to the fields but at low tide the

water flow back through sluices which are covered with screen made up by bamboo slates.

• The screen prevent the escaping of fish or shrimp juvaniles.

• The juveniles on Bheries grow using the organic matter and planktons on sea water and without use any external feeds.

• The water on the fields continuously replenished by the tidal water flow.

• The fish or shrimp grow up to marketable size harvested.

• The stocking of fishes done on during the months of January to February.

• In Bhery culture system the productivity is 168-672kg/Ha/Yr.

POKKALI

• The pokkali culture also similar one• Pokkali fields are less deeper than bheries and in

these the rice and prawns are cultured.• Pokkali is a localy available high salinity tolerant

rice variety.• In Pkkali fields, thesoil is stiff and impervious clay,

rich in organic matter as deposits of plants and shells.

• Paddy cultivated on June-October.

PADDY CULTURE

• The peripheral bundhs are strengthened by planting mangroves, or using bamboo slates and splitted coconut stakes during monsoon.

• The fresh rain water drain out the salts and reduce salinity, on this fields the paddy is cultivated.

• the rice is harvested on october to November.

SHRIMP CULTURE

• The traditional shrimp farming on pokkali fields are called 'Chemmeen Vattu‘, ‘Chemmeen Kettu' or 'Adappu' .

• After harvesting rice, the bundhs( or sluices) are opened. So the sea water enters to the fields. This fields used for shrimp culture.

• For culturing, the bundhs separating the fields are strengthened and the inflow and outflow of the water regulated through sluice gates.

• The stocking of the field is done by the incoming tidal water.• Water is let in Water is let in during high tide and let out during

low tide keeping a close bamboo screen at the mouth of the sluice to prevent the shrimp from escaping.

• The seed thus entered into the field is allowed to grow for a short period by feeding on the natural food available.

• The stock is harvest when it reaches to marketable size.

Chemmeen kettu

• After harvesting the stock there is a celebration called “kettukalakkal”. In which all peoples related to the area come and fishing on the shrimp cultural pond

SPECIESES CULTURED• penaeus indicus – 42%

• Metapenaeus monoceros -4%

• Penaeus monodon – 1%

• Metapenaeus dobsoni- 55%

CONCLUSION

• India has a long history on aqua culture.• The main age old aquaculture practices are

pokkali with chemmeenkeetu in kerala and bhery fisheries in W.Bengal

• Traditional practices have low productivity but the culture coast is very low

• Nowadays also these type of fish cultuaral practices are followed in some areas.

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