2/24/22, 10:21 PM INTRODUCTION TO AQUACULTURE

AFRICAN REGIONAL AQUACULTURE CENTRE, PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA

CENTRE REGIONAL AFRICAIN D'AQUACULTURE, PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA      
ARAC/REP/87/WP/11

INTRODUCTION TO
AQUACULTURE

CONTENTS

— Based on lectures presented by V. G. Jhingran at ARAC

for the Senior Aquaculturists course

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

UNITED NATIONS
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE

NIGERIAN INSTITUTE FOR OCEANOGRAPHY AND MARINE RESEARCH

PROJECT RAF/82/009

APRIL, 1987

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CONTENTS
Forward

1. What is aquaculture
2. Objectives of aquaculture

3. Comparative efficiency of aquaculture as a means of

protein production
4. History of aquaculture, its present organisation and status

4.1. History of aquaculture

4.2. Organisation of aquaculture

and its present status
4.3. Characteristics of aquaculture

5. Different kinds of aquaculture

5.1. Pond culture
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5.1.1. In static freshwater ponds

5.1.2. In brackishwater ponds

5.2. Running water culture

5.3. Culture in recirculatory
systems
5.4. Culture in rice fields

5.5. Aquaculture in raceways: cages, pens and enclosures

5.5.1. Rigid structures

5.5.2. Flexible structures

5.5.3. Floating fish cages

5.5.4. Cages with rigid framework

5.5.4.1. Cages with flexible framework

5.5.4.2. Merits of cage culture

5.5.4.3. Limitation of cage culture

5.6 Finfish culture-cum-livestock rearing

5.7. Monoculture

5.8. Polyculture

5.9 Hanging, ‘on

bottom’ and stick methods of oyster culture
6. Cost-benefit of Certain Aquaculture systems

7. Suggestions for broader reading

Appendix I: M. Tech. (Aquaculture)- Course listing and

unit load

Appendix II: A list of the National Reviews for Aquaculture

Development in Africa

FORWARD
Man, while he ‘domesticated’ many animals and plants, left the fish
out - the carps and the trouts are
relatively very recent attempts. The
neglect of fish was perhaps mainly owing to man's unfamiliarity with
the
watery environment; what is under water is not easily seen as well.
Man could commune with his
terrestrial cohabitants and make them his pets
and beasts of burden. He could watch his land live-stock
and easily
recognize a sick cow or chicken. Even when an attempt is made to learn
how the fish
performed he could not comprehend it easily. The air he
breathes is so thin, same as that for the cow
and the chicken, whereas
the water used for breathing by fish is so heavy and contains so little
of
oxygen, that man could not feel the “pains” of the fish to extract the
life giving gas, which looms as it
were as the perennial risk of the
denizens of water. Add to it the loose though expansive membrane with
many holes and slots, spread on the breathing apparatus of the fish.
Fish has to fight continuosly against
loss and gain of some of its body
contents through this gill surface, at times pitiably difficult and at
times
fascile and ingenious.

The major task for the aquaculturist is to breach this gap in

knowledge to know his animal before he
really succeeds in rearing it to
his advantage. He has to know the biological characteristics and
potentials of the aquatic organism he wants to grow and also the nature
of its environment i.e. the
physics, chemistry and biology of its
ambient medium.

Look at the fish in the wild - try to capture them; it is difficult,

but much easier than to rear them to adult
size and make them reproduce,
under controlled conditions. A fish pond, a race way, a cage or pen is
only an extension of this concept but the problem becomes more complex.
How does fish respond
behaviourally in captivity? How many of what size
and species could be put together to live and could be
induced to produce
protein economically? What are the optimal requirements for nutrition
and growth,
which could change with the age and kind of fish? The kinds
are so diverse that one could say the
difference between two fishes, the
tilapia and the trout, is much more than the difference between the
cow
and the pig. The mammals and birds keep the same body temperature
constantly, but that of fish
changes with that of the environment - an
advantage in the tropical environment since all the rate
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functions
including growth and production would be high, to make the tropical pond
a very effective
system for mass protein production, as is indeed proven.

It becomes obvious that the skills needed in aquaculture are multi-disciplinary.

Biology of the fish is the
beginning; biochemistry and
water chemistry must be thoroughly known; the economic ways of
constructting
ponds and enclosures should be known; the need for fertilizers and
feed should be
precisely known. The growth processes, as well as those
of death - causes and prevention, should be
known. Harvest methodologies
and preservation and marketing needs and economics should be known
too.

Propagation of fish in captivity is an elementary necessity in

aquaculture for one cannot always obtain
sufficient fish seeds from the
wild to meet the demands. The whole process of breeding and nursing fish,
according to nutritional requirements, should also be known. To take a
lesson from the well-trodden path
of the agriculturist, the genetics of
the fish for production of improved strains and hybrids should also be
known.

These are some of the selected areas in aquaculture which need to

be studied and understood. Let us
hope that as time progresses man and
fish would come to know each other as intimately as man and his
domestic
animals - the dog and the cat and the cow and the pig. The fish cannot
wink, but can watch you
with its unshut eye and lead you to a world of
its own, man can benefit by it - that is aquaculture. A cover
design
made by Christiana de Ryksy for a CERES number (112, July - August 1986)
on aquaculture,
reproduced for our cover herein brings this theme into
focus.

Our course for Senior aquaculturists at ARAC deals with several

aspects of aquaculture just mentioned.

The 20 odd subjects dealt with in the course and their credit
loads are indicated in Appendix I. This is
shown as a preview to
what you would study in the next 12 months and also to let you know
from the
beginning the multi-disciplinary nature of aquaculture.
More details including the scope and coverage
under each subject are
given in the “Curriculum” (ADCP/REP/79/7) and also in the Syllabus of
the Rivers
State University of Science and Technology for the degree of
Master of Technology in aquaculture.

The scripts of lectures on “Introduction to Aquaculture” which

follow are based on those prepared by Dr.
V.G. Jhingran, the first
Chief Technical Adviser of ARAC.

Port Harcourt M. N. Kutty

Team Leader,
April, 1987
ARAC

1. WHAT IS AQUACULTURE
An understanding of the principles of operation of capture and culture
fisheries helps to throw light on the
definition of aquaculture. The
expressions capture and culture fisheries are self-explanatory. In the
former, one reaps the aquatic harvest without having to sow, whereas,
in the latter, one has to sow the
seed, nurse it, tend it, rear it and
harvest it when it grows to marketable size.

Examples of capture fisheries are the natural fisheries of the

seas, estuaries, rivers, lagoons, large lakes
etc.

Culture fisheries are usually carried out in small water bodies which
can be manipulated, pre-prepared
for stocking; which are often manured and/or
fertilized before, during and after stcking; and/or where fish
are fed
from extraneous sources.

Pen culture, cage culture, culture in running waters, in recirculating

systems and in reconditioned water
are special types of aquaculture.

All shades of intermediate stages between true capture and culture

fisheries exist such as in man-made-
lakes, which are stocked extraneously
but where no manuring, fertilizing and feeding are generally done.
Stocking is often done in large water-bodies such as lagoons and rivers
where natural stocks have
undergone ‘depletion’.

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The principles of management of capture and culture fisheries are

very different from each other. In the
case of capture fisheries one has
to attempt to harvest maximum sustainable yield by regulating fishing
effort and mesh after taking into account parameters of population
dynamics such as rates of
recruitment, natural and fishing mortalities,
fish growth and size at which recruitment occurs.
Management of capture
fisheries requires knowledge of the dynamics of the fish populations
under
exploitation. The extended exclusive economic zone of 200 miles
brings into focus the national and
international complexities of
regulating the capture fisheries of the seas and the oceans and
apportionment of the marine harvest because fish populations do not
abide by man-made boundaries.

In the case of culture fisheries, no detailed knowledge of the

population dynamics of the cultivated finfish
or shell fish is involved.
Here, one has to breed, if one technically can, the chosen fish under
controlled
conditions, if it does not breed naturally, and develop
fish husbandry practices so as to be able to
formulate economically viable
technologies. For effective aquaculture, one has to gain familiarity and
control water quality to enhance its biological productivity; one has to
understand fish nutrition so as to
be able to formulate nutritionally
balanced fish diet; one has to delve deep into fish genetics so as to
be
able to evolve new varieties and strains which bestow commercial
advantages to the product in terms of
superior growth rate, nutritive
value, bonelesness, taste, odour etc.; one has to prevent incidence of
fish
infections and diseases through prophylatics and therapeutics.

With this background information, a definition of aquaculture can be

attempted.

Aquaculture has been defined by the Japanese Resource Council,

Science and Technology
Agency as under:

“Aquaculture is an industrial process of raising aquatic organisms

upto final commercial
production within properly partitioned aquatic
areas, controlling the environmental factors
and administering
the life history of the organism positively and it has to be considered
as an
independent industry from the fisheries hitherto.”

Aquaculture is organised production of a crop in the aquatic medium.

The crop may be that
of an animal or a plant. Naturally, the
organism cultured has to be ordained by nature as
aquatic.

Examples are:

Finfish: Tilapia, carp, trout, milkfish, bait minnow, yellow tail,

mullet, cat fish.
Shellfish: Shrimps, prawns, oysters, mussels, pearl oyster for
cultured pearls (eg. Japanese pearl
oyster, Pinctada
fucata).
Plants: Water chestnut (Trapa natans).
Red alga of Japan, “Norie” (Porphyra).
Red alga of
Philippines & U.S.A. (Eucheuma)
Brown alga of Japan, “Wakame” (Undaria).

During the last decade or so there has been noticeable a global upsurge
for aquaculture. Some of the
factors which have contributed to the upsurge
are:

a. Increased and continuously rising cost of fishing operations due

to steep rise of the price of fuel.

b. Fear of reduction in marine fish landings by countries that

depend on fishing in the territorical
waters of other countries
as a result of the new laws of the sea of 200 miles exclusive
economic
zone.

c. Need, in some countries, for finding alternative and/or

additional employment for large numbers of
surplus fishermen
or under-employed farmers.

d. A persistent demand in most developed countries for high cost

species like shrimps and prawns.
This has greatly promoted
interest in aquaculture in countries that wish to increase
their foreign
exchange earnings.

The behaviour of one of the world's most productive capture fisheries

viz. that of Peruvian anchovy has, I
believe, given a hard blow to aquaculture
on the one hand, in making scarce and increasing the cost of
fishmeal, which is the ingredient of most fish feeds, and, on the other,
seeing the helpnessness of man in

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countrolling natural causes of fluctuations

of marine fish yields, has created a desire in him to acquire
control on
processes of production through aquaculture.

Factors which have been unfavourable to the development of aquaculture

are:

a. Shortage of fertilizers in most developing countries and their

allocation to agriculture. In this
respect, there is a measure
of conflict between agriculture and aquaculture.

b. Increasing prices and even the availability of fish meal, which,

as stated earlier, is the ingredient of
most fish-feeds. This
is linked with the Peruvian Anchovy crisis, which, apart
from aquaculture,
adversely hit agriculture, through scarcity of
guano and fertilizer, and poultry industry through
scarcity of
fish meal. This has led to search for cheaper protein substitutes
in fish feeds and spurt
of research activity in that direction
in different countries.

c. While a general global environmental consciousness has ameliorated

aquatic pollution and has
thus helped fish culture, aquaculture
itself is considered by some as a polluting agent,
through
release of water containing fish metabolites leading
to eutrophication in the recipient waters, which
may be a stream
or a river or another kind of natural water-body. Discharge
regulations which are
applicable to aquaculture by authorities
in some countries.

The basic fact is that fishes in general help to keep the

aquatic environment clean through
exercising biological control
of vectors (eg. of water-borne diseases like malaria, filaria
etc).
Aquaculture water and pond bottom mud often act as
fertilizers to agricultural fields. Rarely does
aquaculture
discharge-water cause pollution.

Authentic proof it required to establish that aquaculture is

a polluter. In whichever case, if it is
proved that aquaculture
has polluted the environment, the discharge water from aquaculture
establishment would need to be treated and rendered
innocuous before release.

d. Aquatic pollution, through discharge of agricultural pesticides,

domestic wastes, trade effluents and
oil spills, has very
adversely affected aquaculture. In this respect, there is a
measure of conflict
between agriculture, especially cultivation
of high yielding varieties (HYV) of cereals, and
aquaculture.
E.g. cases of fish kills in streams and other water-bodies where
pesticides fall or
where industrial effluents are discharged
and adverse effect on oyster beds off Japanese, U.S.A.
and
French Coasts. The well known cases of oil spills are those
of the tankers: Tory Canyon
(1967) and Amoco Cadiz (1978).

e. Absence of a constitutional provision for aquaculture as a

discreet national activity and legal
frame-work for governing
its development and administration in most of the countries of
the world
are standing in the way of entrepreneurs making
investment in aquaculture.

Multi-disciplinary and systems characteristics of modern aquaculture

need to be especially emphasised
in a lecture on definition of aquaculture.
Mention has been made earlier of some of the essential
components of
aquaculture such as water quality control, fish breading, fish genetics,
fish nutrition, fish
feed formulation, fish pathology, fish parasites
and predator control etc. An aquaculturiest has to
successfully carry
out a whole series of operations before be is able to market his produce.

Complete package of practices have to be developed which involve accomplishment

of several steps
such as fish multiplication, nursing, tending,
and rearing the young, all of which require special food for
the larvae
and the young fish; then growing the young to marketable size which require
special feed
again and often intensive feeding for quick growth. The
quality of fish feed would naturally depend on the
species cultivated.
All the above mentioned steps in the practice of aquaculture require rigid
water quality
control. The cultivated fish has to be saved from the
depredations of predators all along its culture. The
health of the fish
has to be continuously monitored and guarded against infections and
infestations which
have got to be checked.

The systems approach stands in contrast with disciplinal studies

where a scientist take s.up a specific
problem and goes deep into it to
investigate a certain phe no menon or seeks to establish cause and
effect
relationship. Even the latter, depending on the nature of the problem,
may be multi-disciplinary but
it need not always necessarily be.
A biochemist, for example, can effectively study fish nutrition and feed
components of fish required at different stages of its life but, for
successful aquaculture, the whole
system involving scores of aspects,
some of which have been high-lighted above, have to be worked out.
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2. OBJECTIVES OF AQUACULTURE
Having defined aquaculture and mentioned some of the reasons which
have contributed to imparting a
fillip to aquaculture in recent times,
it is proper to state the objectives of aquaculture. These are:

i. Production of protein rich, nutritive, palatable and easily

digestible human food benefiting the
whole society through
plentiful food supplies at low or reasonable cost.

ii. Providing new species and strengthening stocks of existing

fish in natural and man-made water-
bodies through artificial
recruitment and transplantation.

iii. Production of sportfish and support to recreational fishing.

iv. Production of bait-fish for commercial and sport fishery.

v. Production of ornamental fish for aesthetic appeal.

vi. Recycling of organic waste of human and livestock origin.

vii. Land and aquatic resource utilization: this constitutes the

macro-economic point of view benefiting
the whole society.
It involves (a) maximum resource allocation to aquaculture
and its optimal
utilization; (b) increasing standard of
living by maximising profitability; and (c) creation of
production surplus for export (earning foreign exchange
especially important to most developing
countries).

ix. Providing means of sustenance and earning livelihood and

monetary profit through commercial
and industrial aquaculture.
This constitutes the micro-economic point of view benefiting
the
producer. In the case of small-scale producer, the objective
is to maximise income by greatest
possible difference
between income and production cost and, in the case of large
scale producer,
by maximising return on investment.

x. Production of industrial fish.

Fish flesh, on the average, contains: moisture and oil, 80%; protein;
15–25%; mineral matter, 1–2%; and
other constituents, 1%. Water content
is known to vary inversely with fat content.

Need for artificial recruitment has arisen in order to replace or

augment stocks decimated by:

a. decline of water quality and destructive fishing (e.g. pollution,

poisoning, dynamiting);

b. barrier to migration caused by execution of river valley

projects (e.g. anadromous fish) and

c. overfishing.

From the global view point, the fish which have overwhelmingly
dominated artificial recruitment
are: i) Oncorhynchus
ii) Acipenser iii) Salmo. Artificial recruitment of carp,
tilapia and mullet are
also important mostly in tropical and
subtropical countries.

Oncorhychus and Salmo transplants have contributed maximum to

sport and recreational fishing.

Production of livebait e.g. for skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis)

is an example of bait production for
commercial fishing. Some potential
live-bait species are: Tilapia mossambica, Dorosoma petenense,
Engraulis
japonicus, Sardinella malanure, several species of mullets and cyprinids.

A wide variety of ornamental fish such as sword tail (Xiphophrus

helleri); angel fish (Pterophyllum scale),
siamese fighter (Betta splendens),
goldfish, and common carp. The last mentioned supports intensive
breeding
of fancy carps (live jewels) of Japan.

There has come into being fish-cum-livestock culture, in the form

of an integrated system especially
involving cattle, pigs, ducks and
poultry.

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Several by-products are obtained from fish. They include fish

meal used for animal feeding (in
aquaculture an important component
of most fish feeds) and as manure; fish flour; fish oil; leather;
gelatin and glue from fish skins; imitation pearls; isinglass; adhesives;
insulin from fish pancreas; sex
hormones from gonads etc.

Production of industrial fish includes production for purposes of

reduction to fishmeal or fertilizers.
Seaweeds are cultured for marine
colloids and pearl oysters for cultured pearls.

3. COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCY OF AQUACULTURE AS

A MEANS
OF PROTEIN PRODUCTION
While it is recognized that aquaculture provides protein-rich
food, it should be pointed out that protein
production through aquaculture
is much more efficient than production in any other animal production
system.

Fish can consume more protein than other animals and can efficiently
convert nitrogen in feed into
structural proteins in the body. The
higher efficiency of nitrogen excretion in fish is another reason for
fish
to benefit from a bioenergetic point of view. Fish and other aquatic
animals have ammonia (NH3 + NH4
+) as the major excretory nitrogenous
product. For mammals (urea) and birds (uric acid) the excretory
products
are larger compounds. When proteins are oxidized the endproduct is
ammonia, which, in view
of its toxicity cannot be allowed to accumulate
in body fluids. Whereas in the case of fish ammonia
produced can be
directly excreted out (mostly through gills) to water, this cannot be
so in case of
terrestrial animals, and therefore the ammonia produced
has to be detoxified by synthesis (energy
demanding) of larger molecules
such as urea (which is non toxic and can easily dissolve in water and
can be excreted in urine in as the case of mammals) and as uric acid in
the case birds and reptiles*. The
uric acid is a even larger compound
than urea:
* Since birds and reptiles are egg laying, the egg cannot accumulate toxic ammonia or carry urea in solution (since this cannot be excreted in
urine)
and therefore the synthesized uric acid is precipitated and stored as
crystals (solid) in a small sac the “allantois” in the eggs of birds and
reptiles until hatching.

It is possible that it is this saving in energy (in view ammonia need

not be converted into larger
compounds, using energy) and also the concomittant
enhanced capacity to convert feed nitrogen into
tissue protein
that the fish is a more efficent producer of protein than the cow or the
chicken. Also added
to this is the fact that the poikilothermic animals
do not expend any energy maintaining a warm body
temperature.

When fed on balanced diet under favourable environmental conditions

a food conversion ratio (FCR) of
1:1 of wet food eaten to gain in weight
(net weight gain to dry feed) has been obtained in fish. The FCR
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could
even be less than unity, but then, it must be remembered that there is
difference in level of
hydration. For channel catfish and rainbow trout
an FCR of 1.0 – 1.25 (weight gain of 1 – 1.25kg for
every kg of dry food
consumed) has been obtained.

The protein efficiency ratio (weight gain per unit of protein intake)
is often higher for fish than for pig,
sheep or steers. As pointed out
fish are able to utilize high levels of protein in the diet. For reasons
linked
with those explained already, in poultry almost one half of amino-acids
are deaminated and lost for
protein synthesis, in weaning pigs two
thirds of amino-acids are lost through deamination. It is suggested
that
the high efficiency of protein synthesis may be related to the high plasma
amino-acid level of fish,
and also owing to the capacity to excrete NH3 as
explained. It is thus clear that fish are very efficient
converters
of protein into fish meat.

A comparative study of economics of production in India has shown

that fish culture can give 3–4 times
profit than the cultivation of wheat,
rice and millets. Similarly cost of production of beef, poultry and pork
in Hungary shows that fish production costs are the lowest, being 49, 30
and 2 percent less respectively.

4. HISTORY OF AQUACULTURE, ITS PRESENT ORGANISATION

AND STATUS
4.1. History of aquaculture
In the historical past, aquaculture remained multilocational and
isolated, each location having evolved its
own pattern, until in recent
times, when with the development of fast means of communication and
travel
bridging distances in progressively decreasing time, species are
being cultured adopting a measure of
standardised practices and sites
when they are most suited.

The ‘Art’ of aquaculture is very old. The evidence that Egyptians

were probably the first in the world to
culture fish as far back as
2500 B.C. come from pictorial engravings of an ancient Egyptian tomb
showing tilapia being fished out from an artificial pond. The Romans
are believed to have reared fish in
circular ponds divided into breeding
areas. Culture of Chinese carps was sidespread in China in 2000
B.C.
Writings in India made in 300 B.C. suggest means of rendering fish
poisonous in the Indian sub-
continent in times of war. This implies that
fish culture prevailed in some Indian reservoirs. Some
historical documents
compiled in 1127 A.D. describe methods of fattening fish in ponds in India.
Culture
of Gangetic carps in Bengal in the Indian Sub-continent is of
historical origin.

The Chinese carried with them their traditional knowledge of carp

culture to the countries they emigrated
like Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia,
Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam etc. In the Philippines, fish culture has
been done in brackishwater ponds for centuries. Eel culture in Japan is
also very old.

In Central and occidential Europe, common carp culture developed

along with monasteries in the middle
ages. Later, with the development
of pond fertilization and artificial feeding, carp culture got a new
lease
of life especially in Central and Oriental Europe. Simultaneously
in Europe, salmonid culture began, fillip
having been provided by salmon
breeding and rearing techniques which were developed by them.
Pollution
in the aftermath of industrialisation, and hydro-electric development,
led to restocking of open
waters in Europe. This gave a new texture to
development of aquaculture in Europe.

In North America, fish culture has developed from the turn of the
century emphasis having been laid on
trout for stocking in coldwater and
black bass in warm waters.

Except for the referred culture of tilapia in Egypt, the origin of

fish culture in Africa is recent. It was only at
the end of II world war
that efforts were made to introduce and develop fish cultivation. The
prize species
in Africa is tilapia, which, in recent years, has been
extensively transplanted into many warm countries
almost round the
equator. Tilapia has been referred to as the ‘wonder fish’ of Africa
and several attempts
to popularise tilapia culture in various African
countries did not achieve so much success as expected. In
some countries
mixed culture of tilapia and catfish Clarias gariepinus) have achieved
some success
lately; aquaculture prospects and priorities for Africa are
now subject to a fresh scrutiny in attempts to
make it a successful
venture, especially in view of its role in rural development.

Fish culture is only beginning in Latin America and most of the

Middle-East. In Israel it has made
phenominal progress.
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Since World War II, four factors have contributed to rapid development
of aquaculture. These are:

a. Facilities of fish transport by modern forms of communication

bridging distances by quick
transport.

b. Use of polythene bags and fish transported therein under

oxygen with addition, when necessary, of
transquilizer
to water.

c. Artificial propagation of farmed fish (e.g. by hypophysation)

and its application to difficult-to-breed
fish (e.g. Chinese
and Indian carps) and development of hatching techniques
to rear eggs and
larvae.

d. Availability of feed concentrates and their distribution in

pellet form.

The fish which have figured most in inter-regional transplantation

are rainbow trout, carp, certain species
of tilapia (T. mossambica and
T. nilotica) and Chinese carps (Ctenopharyngodon idella and
Hypophthalmichthys
mollitrix).

Fish culture using some standard methods has, in recent years,

got itself extended to many parts of the
world. Fish breeding,
artificial fertilization and pellet feeding, which at one time were
applied to selected
species, are now made applicable to many cultured
species and, as time advances, more and more
species are falling
in line, though details vary. With further research in aquaculture,
especially on
production of fish seed and fish feed technologies,
aquaculture in heading towards a quantum jump in
years to come.

4.2. Organisation of aquaculture

In China and Socialist countries of Europe which account for a
high proportion of present day
aquaculture production of the world,
fish culture is done in state farms, communes or through
cooperative
endeavour. In these countries, aquaculture received special attention
because of the role of
community welfare that aquaculture plays.

In industrially advanced countries, aquaculture is carried out by

private sector, i.e. private individuals and
companies. In North
America, Japan and West Europe, private companies have become increasingly
more prominent in the practice of aquaculture.

In developing countries, aquaculture is mostly practiced by

small-scale or subsistance level farmers. In
these cases, there is
heavy dependence on governmental support, including technical and
financial
assistance. In most cases however, the government is not
fully responsible in support of aquaculture.
The reason appears to be
that aquaculture lacks a firm legal status of its own, it being classified
neither
as agriculture, nor animal husbandry nor even truly fishing
(capture fishery). Aquaculture does not qualify
itself for governmental
support and incentives given to agriculture and animal husbandry.

On the other hand, the restrictive practices intended for animal-waste

disposal are at places
indiscrimately applied to aquaculture,
sometimes branding it as a polluter.

Most governments include aquaculture under fishery sector despite

the productive phase of aquaculture
being more skin to agriculture
(e.g. manuring and fertilizing practices). For reasons already stated
earlier,
the positive role aquaculture plays in contributing to national
wealth, resource utilization and production
of protective protein food,
aquaculture is on way to occupying a position of its own in many
countries.
Once the economic viability of aquaculture in respect of
scores of species and multiplicity of systems is
fully established every
where, as it is bound to happen in due course of time, aquaculture will
lead to
“aquaplosion” (Jhingran, 1982).

4.3. Characteristics of Aquaculture and its present status

Despite the fact that fish culture is an age-old practice in some
regions of the world, it is relatively new as
a significant industry
in most countries.

Aquaculture is considered to be a labour-intensive, but a high-risk

bio-industry. An important
characteristic feature of aquaculture is
that, depending on its intensification, it can be organised as
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systems
which may be termed as:

a) Extensive - Adoption of traditional techniques of

aquaculture e.g. dependence on natural
productivity and little control over the
stocks.
b) Intensive - Adoption of full complement of culture
techniques including scientific pond design,
fertilization, supplemental feeding or only
feeding without fertilization; full measure of
stock manipulation, disease control,
scientific harvesting, high level inputs and high
rate of production.
c) Semi- - Adoption of mid-level technology, partial
dependence on natural productivity,
intensive fertilization, supplementary feeding, with stock
manipulation, medium level inputs and
medium rate of production.

Another characteristic of aquaculture is that it can be organised

on the basis of:

a. small scale rural aquaculture (even as one-family-unit).

b. large-scale vertically integrated aquaculture (VIA) which is

defined as a centrally mamaged
comprehensive system such that
all components from input of energy to final level of produce
in
the market are coordinated and kept in harmony.

Aquaculture is estimated to contribute 10.21 million tons in fish

production in 1983.

Group-wise breakdown of the contribution of aquaculture is:

finfish 4.45 million tons

mollusc 3.25 million tons
crustaceans 0.12 million tons
sea weeds 2.39 million tons
10.21 million tons

Region-wise aquaculture production (million tons) follows the

following pattern:

Asia  8.41
Africa  0.05
Latin America  0.22
Europe  1.22
North America  0.31
Total 10.21

From the above it comes out, Asia is the largest producer,

contributing about 84% of the world's total
aquaculture production.
Total aquaculture production for Africa is low and it appears that
the reported
production has not increased consistently over the past
decade. This aspect needs some serious study
and we shall refer again
to the problem during our present course. One should refer to studies
on critical
analysis of factors responsible for aquaculture development
to understand the problems concerned (see
references at the end of
this discussion).

5. DIFFERENT KINDS OF AQUACULTURE

As habitats of aquaculture, there are three categories of waters,
viz. fresh, salt and brackish. Fresh
waters, generally abounding in
the inland areas of a country, and the salt water of the seas and
oceans,
are characteristed by a wide difference in their salinities
ranging from nil in the former to nearly 35 ppt in
the latter.
The difference in salinity within each category of water, fresh and sea,
is restricted to rather
narrow limits. The salt content of fresh and
sea water exercises a very selective influence on the fauna
and flora
that live in each type of water.

In as far as finfish and shellfish are concerned, the normal

residents of each type of water are said to be
stenohaline, i.e. they
can withstand only a narrow variation in the salinities of their
surrounding medium.

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A carp is an example of stenohaline freshwater

fish and a sardine or a mackerel may be cited as
examples of stenohaline
saltwater fish.

Brackish water normally naturally occurs in estuaries, deltas of

rivers, lagoons and backwaters, which
everywhere in the world are
under tidal regime. In such habitats the salinity of the water
fluctuates widely
between negligible to 35 ppt, depending on the phase
of the tide and volume of fresh water discharged
through the river into
the sea. The finfish and shellfish that inhabit brackish waters are
invariably
euryhaline i.e. they form a group of organisms which physiologically
withstands wide changes in salinity
of the surrounding medium.
Stenohaline organisms are devoid of physiological mechanisms to tolerate
wide changes of salinity. So, a special type of fauna inhabits the
estuarine habitat beyond the sea-end of
which live the stenohaline and
saltwater forms. Examples of euryhaline fish are a mullet (Mugil cephalus)
and mud-skipper, Periophthalmus* and those of crustaceans are several
species of penaeids (e.g.
Penaeus monodon)* and crab (e.g. Scylla serrata*).

The capacity of the residents of an estuary to tolerate a wide

range of salinity that prevails there is by
virtue of a dynamic
physiological process of osmoregulation in which the gills, the
kidneys, the skin and
the buccal cavity lining play significant roles.
* Periophthalmus koelereuteri, Penaeus notialis and the crab, Callinectes are corresponding species which we encounter in ARAC fish farm at
Buguma.

There are finfish and shellfish which spend different phases of

their lives in sea, estuaries and freshwater
streams. These forms
transcend the salinity barrier by their osmoregulation. Such animals
are either
anadromous or katadromous. Anadromous fish, as exemplified
by salmon or Acipencer or shad, are
those that bread naturally in
freshwater streams but spend the middle years of their lives in the sea.
Katadromous forms, as exemplified by the eel, display the opposite kind
of life cycle. These animals
breed in the sea and spend the middle years
of their lives in fresh water streams.

There are forms which restrict their migration between fresh water
sections of the river and the estuary.
Several species of palaeomonid
prawns (Macrobrachium rosenbergi; M. vollenhovenii) are examples of
shellfish which undergo such a life cycle. These forms breed in estuaries
but spend the mid-years of their
live in fresh waters. Then, there are
forms which migrate back and forth between the estuary or a lagoon
and the
sea in different phases of their lives. A mullet (e.g. Mugil cephalus)
or a shrimp (e.g. Penaeus
mododon, P. notialis) are examples of finfish
and shellfish which show such a pattern of migration. These
forms breed
in the sea but spend part of their juvenile and adult lives in the estuary
where they form a
sizeable fishery.

Apart from salinity of the water, its temperature exercises a

selective influence on fish that thrive there
e.g. warmwater fish as
contrasted with temperate or coldwater fish. Even in tropical countries,
a river
may have and usually does have, a coldwater section in its upper
reaches and a warmwater section in its
middle and lower reaches. In
temperate countries and in the upper reaches of tropical countries
(e.g. at
high altitudes), coldwater fish (e.g. trout, loach etc.) live.
Then warm waters have their distinctive fish
fauna (e.g. scores of
species of carps and catfishes and several species of murrels etc.).

Notwithstanding the fact that the capacity of water to dissolve

oxygen (DO) is negatively correlated with
temperature, the oxygen content
of water at a given temperature can vary a great deal depending on
turbulance,
photosynthesis and BOD. Do of water exercises a selective influence
on quality of fish life. In
water of low oxygen content, air-breathing
fish thrive best e.g. Clarias*, snakeheads** etc. Fish that are
used to
living in well-oxygenated water e.g. trout, do not thrive in waters of
low oxygen content.

Notwithstanding differences in the physioco-chemical characteristics

of its habitats (viz. fresh water,
brackish water and sea water) aquaculture
systems are of several kinds. Most of the systems are highly
variable in mannitude and intensity ranging to serve as one-family units
or large scale commercial
enterprises. The different kinds of aquaculture
are:

i. Static water ponds.

ii. Running water culture.

iii. Culture in recirculating systems: in reconditioned water

and in closed systems.

iv. Culture in rice fields.

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v. Aquaculture in raceways, cages pens and enclosures

vi. Finfish-culture cum livestock rearing.

vii. Hanging, ‘on-bottom’ and stick methods of oyster culture.

* The snake head Ophiocephalus obscurus is the common form in West Africa.

** C. gariepinus (=lazera) is most important commercially, among about

10 species of Clarias which occur in the Rivers State (see
J. Akiri, 1987,
studies on Clarias species in Rivers State.
Ph.D. thesis, Rivers State University of Science & Technology).

Based on the number of species that are cultured in a system

aquaculture may be classified into: (a)
monoculture and (b) polyculture.

5.1. Pond Culture

5.1.1 Static freshwater ponds

Ordinary fresh water fish culture ponds are still-water ponds.

They vary a great deal in waterspread area
and depth. Some are
seasonal and some perennial. The ponds may be rainfed (also called
sky ponds)
and/or may have inlet and outlet systems. The water supply
may be from a stream or a canal or from an
underground source such
as wells, tubewells etc. The water retentivity of the ponds depends
on soil
composition of the pond bottom and subsoil water level. The
natural biological productivity of such ponds
depends on soil and
water qualities. Homestead ponds are usually small and shallow.
Commercial
freshwater ponds have to have an assured water supply and
inlet and drainage systems. In organised
aquaculture, the carrying
capacity of still-water ponds is enhanced by manuring and/or fertilizing
and
exercising water quality control. Fish are also fed from
an extraneous source for obtaining fast growth.

Science of freshwater pond fish-culture has made great strides

in recent years and there is a fast
advancing frontier of knowledge
on every aspect of pond culture starting from farm designing and
construction upto production of marketable fish of a wide variety of
cultured fresh water species of finfish
and shellfish. Examples are:
carp culture systems in India, China, Israel, Germany, etc; catfish
culture in
U.S.A.

There is considerable competition with agriculture and other

land-use agencies in this system of
aquaculture and its success would,
by and large, depend on comparative economics of land use. But
much also depends on national policies on land use and the encouragement
government gives to
aquaculture as a means of producing fish
protein.

5.1.2 Brackishwater ponds

Not only are the species different from those cultured in

freshwater ponds but the principle of operation
of brackishwater ponds
is different from those of freshwater ponds. Here the pond or the
farm is
essentially located on a tidal creek or stream and there is
a system of sluices to control the ingress and
egress of water into
and from the ponds. Examples are: Milkfish farms in Philippines,
Taiwan, Indonesia
etc. Brackish water fish farming is a fast growing
science. Here also there is competition with other land
use agencies,
especially forestry, but the extent of competition with agriculture is
relatively less because
coastal land is generally not suitable for
agriculture. The ARAC farm at Buguma is tidally fed and the
salinity
range is 5 – 21 ppt.

Mariculture:

Mariculture is aquaculture in the saltwater of the sea. It may

be in seas, bays, bayes, sounds etc. e.g.
traditional mariculture in
inshore and offshore waters by a large number of countries notably,
U.S.A.,
France, Spain, Japan etc. Mariculture of finfish in cages
is relatively recent. Though a new development,
it has assumed
considerable importance and has great potential e.g. mariculture of
several species of
salmonids; Salmo salar, Oncorhynchus spp; of
yellow tail, Seriola quinaueradiata; of red seabream
(Pagrus major) etc.

5.2. Running water culture

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In Japan, at places where there is abundant supply of water,

common carp is cultured in running water
ponds. The most intensive
common carp is cultured in running water ponds. A very high common
carp
production rate of 980 t/ha has been achieved at the Tanka
Running water fish farm in Japan where
there is plentiful supply of
running water of high dissolved oxygen content and optimum range of
temperature for feeding. Running water culture of common carp is
done in a small way in Europe,
Indonesia and Thailand.

5.3. Culture in recirculatory systems

This system is comparable to running water culture system except
that in the latter, water goes waste
whereas here the same water is
reused. In this system, water is filtered continuously and recirculated,
often after aeration, to the fish pond. The filtering element is a
biological filter comprising 3 – 4 cm
diameter pebbles, or honey-comb
synthetic strips, designed to arrest faecal matter and to denitrify
catabolic wastes through bacterial action. The Motokawa Fish farm
in Japan is well known for carp
production in recirculatory filtering
ponds. This system has been tried experimentally for carp fry rearing
at the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore (W.B)
India, with commendable results.
There are several new developments
in reusing water for fish culture, given in two volumes, by
Tiews
(1981). See also EIFAC (1986).

A recirculatory system is sometimes classified as a system of

waste-water aquaculture and reducing
biological oxygen demand (BOD) of
the waste water. Several mechanisms of handling waste-water exist
viz.

1. pretreatment of waste water e.g. cascading through a

series of ponds: air system etc;

2. dilution of waste water;

3. pretreatment and dilution;

4. no treatment of waste water.

Benefits lie in:

a. increase in fish yields through increase in natural fish

food, 5000 kg/ha at Aquaculture Research
Station, Dor Israel
from fluid cowshed manure; sewage fed system in Bengal and
Tamil Nadu,
India - 15,000 kg/ha/year.

b. direct use of solid organic matter in natural waters by

phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Restraints in wastewater fish culture systems lie in:

1. Do level in ponds;

2. toxic material in wastewater;

3. tastes and odour in fish;

4. parasites and diseases;

5. public health problems (Salmonella, Shigella)

of other Enterbacteriacae;

6. pond effluent standards; and

7. (7) public acceptance.

These lead to problems of fish pond management i.e. acquiring understanding

of physioco-chemical
dynamics of pond in relation to physiological
requirements of cultured species. Polyculture system need
to be
encouraged where productivity is based on natural foods. e.g. ecological
niche approach in the
polyculture of Chinese and Indian carps in India.

In reconditioned water:

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Water reconditioning in aquaculture is necessary where there is

inadequate water supply for the fish
culture programme or where water
quality requirements are such that reconditioning is indicated.

The different fish rearing systems using reconditioned water are:

i. simple flow-through (single pass) system

i.e. ample water-supply of appropriate quality

ii. single pass system with pre and post-treatment:

i.e. Water supply

iii. a system re-using water in fish rearing unit:

The pre-treatment processes used are:

(1) sedimentation; (2) screening; (3) shocking to kill aquatic life;

(4) filtration; (5) sterilization; (6) aeration;
(7) degassing
(nitrogen, CO2 removal) (8) heating or cooling if necessary
(9) pH control.

The reconditioning processes are:

1. sedimentation;

2. mechanical filtration;

3. biological filtration;

4. extended aeration;

5. activated sludge;

6. pH control;

7. heating or cooling as the need be;

8. sterilization;

9. de-gassing and

10. ion exchange.

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Post-treatment processes are:

(1) aeration; (2) sedimentation; (3) filtration; (4) disinfection;

(5) activated sludge; (6) lagooning; (7)
digestion or equivalent;
(8) coagulation; (9) absorption taste or odour removal by activated
carbon.

These systems are mostly applicable to sophisticated and intense

aquaculture.

In Closed System:

Fresh water model developed at Ahrenbury in Germany is a 50 m3 in3

circuit for mirror carp, Cyprinus
carpio, 6 m3 in fish tanks and 44m3
in purification unit. Temperature kept constant at 223°C and quantity
of
food (g of food/fish/day) has been kept equal. Rate of flow: 25 m3/hour;
maximum carrying capacity,
determined experimentally being 1.5t of fish
and ratio of water volume to fish weight 30:1. Closed circuits
have
limited carrying capacity and when the capacity is exceeded, the system may
break down.

The highest production, an annual yield of 8.6t of carp is obtained

using semi-monthly rather than
monthly and 1.5 monthly stocking sequence,
fish are harvested when 500 g in weight (rather than 1000,
1500, or 2000 g)
and fed on fish having raw protein content of 36% (rather than 47%).

The cost of feeds are the main operating costs when using the system.
The decrease in income is
proportionately more rapid than decrease in
production when the size of fish harvested increase and
stocking sequence
are prolonged. The most economical has been found to be when heat is
derived from
heat exchanges from industrial cooling water rather than
when centrally heated or when diverting one
circuit out of 12 to
fingerlings production i.e. all circuits producing 500 g fish for the
market. As indicated
earlier many such trials have been done (see Tiews,
1981).

5.4 Culture in Rice Rields

Culturing fish and growing rice together in the same paddy fields is
an old practice in Asia and the Far
East. Interest in producing rice and
fish together had declined in recent years because of use of fish-toxic
pesticides required to protect high yielding varieties (HYV) of rice
introduced as part of green revolution
in Asia. Now, newer HYV of
rice strains are being developed with inbred resistance to insects
and insect-
transmitted diseases which decrease the need for pesticide
protection or growing rice. Four trials
conducted in Philippines on
Tilapia mosambica and Cyprinus carpio stocking have resulted in
standing
crops of fish in paddy fields averaging 69 – 288 kg/ha at harvest
time. More developments in rizi-
pisciculture are described in the
ICLARM Conference Proceedings on “Integrated Aquaculture -
Agriculture
farming systems (Pullin & Shehadeh, 1980).

5.5 Aquaculture in Raceways: Cages, Pens and Enclosures

Marine aquaculture farms may be located at six possible sites viz.
either on the shore with pumped sea-
water supply; in the intertidal
zone; in the sub-littoral zone, or offshore with surface floating,
mid-water
floating or seabed cages. The first three are enclosures and
the last three cages. The enclosures in
Europe have by and large stemmed
from those set up for ‘yellow tail’ (Seriola quinqueradiata) farming
in
Japan. e.g. of inter-tidal enclosure:

1. Adoike near Takasu in Inland sea in Japan;

2. Ardtoe in Great Britain. Since concrete seawalls or

stone-pitched anbankments are expensive, few
intertidal
enclosures are now built.

5.5.1 Rigid structures

A large number of rigid net enclosures have been built in Inland

sea in Japan in recent years, but not all
are successful: because of
poor siting providing less circulation, others fouled by marine
organisms
which restrict circulation. More modern successful net
enclosures have been positioned after
hydrographic surveys to insure
sufficient water exchange and research on building material.
(Most
suitable: galvanised “chain-link” and galvanised “weldmesh”) e.g.

a. yellow tail 3.5 ha farm at Sakaide in Seto Inland Sea, Japan.

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b. Faery Isles, Lake sween, Scotland.

c. Bamboo barricades for milkfish farming in Laguna de Bay,

Philippines.

d. Sub-littoral enclosures for salmon farming in Norway

e.g. Flogoykjolpo (1.2 ha) and Volokjolpo (3.5
ha)
near Movik, west of Bergen (Farming potential os salmon 1000 t.)

e. Sub-littoral enclosure built in 1974 at Loch Moidart

(40 m3 capacity) (tidal range of 5m).

5.5.2 Flexible Structures

Buoyed fish net enclosure but resting on bottom e.g. 10 ha trial

enclosure in Laguna de Bay, Philippines.

5.5.3 Floating Fish Cages

Most important development of the decade is aquafarming. Its merits

lie on:

a. can be used where seabed is unsuitable for shellfish.

b. being off bottom, predators can be controlled more easily.

c. can be towed out of danger if threatened by pollution.

5.5.4 Cages with Rigid Framework

e.g.

(a) 8m diameter 6m having galvanised steel collar, galvanised chain link bag net for yellow-tail
deep farming in Japan.
(b) 14m diameter 7m
deep
(c) cages at Loch Ailort for Salmon farming in Scotland
provided with rigid collars and cat-walks for
(d) cages at Loch inspection of fish.
Moidart (6m × 4 × 3. 1m)
 (f) 50 × 12m Pacific Salmon cage at Reservation Bay near
Anacortes, Washington U.S.A.

5.5.4.1 Cages with Flexible Framework

e.g.

a. 55m diameter and 25m deep chum salmon (Oncorynchus keta)

in Lake Saroma at Hokkaido,
Japan. Here netting material
can be changed even when fish are in stock.

b. Midwater fish cage of the Hiketa Fishermen's Cooperative

Association of Japan in Inland sea: 9m
sq. × 8.25m deep
with a buoyed feeding neck. These are grouped in 10– 12
cages. They can be
raised in calm sea and lowered in
rough sea.

c. Domsea Farm cage of Puget Sound, Washington U.S.A.

15.2 × 15.2 × 7.6m cage.

d. Floating fish cage of Kampuchea and Southern Vietnam.

Several new developments in this area and allied aquaculture are

described and reported in British
monthly, “Fish farming International”.

5.5.4.2 Merits of Cage Culture

Advanced type of aquaculture having scores of advantages over

pond culture.

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1. 10 – 12 times higher yields than pond culture for

comparable inputs and area;

2. Prevents loss of stock due to flooding;

3. No question of seapage and evaporation losses;

4. No need for water replacement;

5. No problem of pond excavation and dependence on soil

characterics;

6. Avoids proximity of agricultural areas hence reduces

hazards of pesticide contamination;

7. Can be conveniently located near urban markets avoiding

the need for fish preservation and
transportation;

8. Eliminates competition with agriculture and other land uses;

9. Affords easy control of fish reproduction in Tilapia sp;

10. Complete harvest of fish is effected;

11. Optimum utilization of artificial food;

12. Reduced fish handling;

13. Initial investme nt relatively small.

5.5.4.3 Limitations of Cage Culture

They are relatively few. They are:

1. Difficult to apply when water is rough;

2. High dependence on artificial feeding. High quality feed

fesirable especially in respect of protein,
vitamins and
minerals. Feed losses are possible through cage walls.

3. At times interferes with natural fish populations round cage.

4. Risk of theft is increased.

In view of these, it is reasonable to consider cage culture

practice as one which will prevail in future
years. Research on this
system deserves to be encouraged.

5.6. Finfish Culture-cum-Livestock Rearing

Commercial scale fish-cum-duck culture is practiced in Central
European countries such as
Czeckslovakia, East Germany, Hungary and
Poland, as well as in Taiwan Province of China. FAO has
organised this
system in C.A.R., Zambia and Ivory Coast and also in Nepal recently.
In this system of
culture, fish pond water surface maintains brood stock
of ducks, rear one-day-old ducklings as well as
14–21 day-old advanced
ducklings. This is a synergic system of mutual benefit to each organism
cultured: duck droppings manuring the pond, duck foraging consuming a
variety of unwanted biota for
fishculture such as tadpoles, frogs,
mosquito and dragonfly larvae, molluscs, aquatic weeds etc. One
duck
produces about 6kg of droppings in 30 – 40 days in a pond and 100kg of
duck manure may
increase fish flesh to the extent of 4 –6kg. 300 ducks
led to an increase by 100kg of carp in East
Germany. In Taiwan fish-cum-duck-culture
produces 3500kg/ha of fish.

Both poultry droppings and pig excreta are used to manure fish
ponds. To save transport costs poultry
pen and pig sties are advised to
be located at or near fish pond site. A fat pig produces, on the average
1.6 – 1.8t of manure (including urine) per year and fresh manure of
15 – 25 pigs can be used in a one
hectare pond. Hungary has developed
carbon-manuring technique in early fifties with ducks acting as
carbon-manuring
machines. In Hungary 30 – 60/ha/100 days of manure is spread.
Recently in India
polyculture of Chinese and Indian carps in a pig
manure fertilized pond led to nearly 7.5 tons/ha/yr
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production of fish.
In C.A.R., production of 10 – 15 tons/ha/yr has been achieved. See
Pullin and
Shehadeh (1981) for several other experiments on integrated
agriculture-aquaculture systems.

5.7. Monoculture
Monoculture, as the name implies, in the culture of a single species
of an organism in a culture system of
any intensity, be it in any type
of water, fresh, brackish or salt.

e.g. Fresh water

Common carp in East Germany

Common carp in Japan

Tilapia nilotica in several countries of Africa

Rainbow trout (Salmon gairdneri) culture in
several countries.
Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in U.S.A.

Catfish, Clarias gariepinus in Africa.

Brackish water

Milkfish, Chanos chanos in the Philippines.

Mullet culture in several countries.

Seawater

Yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata in Japan.

Kuruma shrimp, Peneaus japonicus

Nori: Porphyra sp. in Japan

Scallop (Patinopecten yessoesin) in Japan

Red seabream (Pagrus major) in Japan

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp) in Nort

America
Eel (Anguilla spp) in Japan.

Feeding with species spefific feed is the main basis for monoculture
in the case of finfish.

5.8 Polyculture
Polyculture, as the name implies, is the culture of several
species in the same waterbody. The culture
system generally depends on
natural food of a waterbody sometime augmented artificially by fertilization
and/or by supplementary feeding. If artificial food is given
it is a common food acceptable to all or most
species that are cultured.

e.g. Fresh water

1. Polyculture of Clarias gariepinus and tilapias

in Africa.

2. Polyculture of several species of Chinese carps

in China, Taiwan etc.

3. Polyculture of several Indian major carp species

in India.

4. Polyculture in Indian major carps, Chinese carps and

other fish in India (called composite fish
culture
in India).

Brackish water

1. Milkfish and shrimp culture in Philippines and

Indonesia.

2. Mullet and shrimp culture in Israel.

In systems where production depends on natural
fish pond
zonation i.e. ecological niches assume
great importance.

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5.9. Hanging, ‘on bottom’ and stick methods of oyster culture

In the hanging method, oysters as they grow, are suspended from
rafts, long-lines or racks.

Raft method is used in protected areas as in the Seto Inland sea

of Japan.

The long-line system has horizontal lines attached to wooden

barrels or metal drums at or near the
surface from which strings of
seed oysters are suspended. The long-line system is used in offshore
grounds.
The system can withstand rough seas which might destroy rafts.

The structures in the rack method consists of vertical poles or

posts driven into bottom which support
horizontal poles. Strings of
seed oyster are tied to horizontal poles such that they do not touch
the
bottom. The trend of rack method is downward because of coastal
pollution.

In the sowing method, oysters are directly placed on the bottom.

In the stick method, seed oysters are attached to wooden sticks

riven into bottom in the intertidal zone. In
both stick & “on bottom”
method, crawling predators take a toll of oysters.

Raft and long line methods are most productive as they minimise
losses by predation and maximise
production. U.S.A., Japan, Republic
of Korea, France and Mexico are some of the major oyster
producing
countries. U.S.A. and France largely use ‘on bottom’ method. The
traditional species in France
has been Ostrea edulis and Crassostrea
angulata but in recent years, heavy mortalities have occurred
and
France imported Crassostrea gigas from Japan, Canada and U.S.A. to
circumvent the problem. In
West Africa, including Nigeria, C. gasar,
is being tested for mass scale adoption of aquaculture.

6. COST - BENEFIT OF CERTAIN AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS

It has been estimated that on global basis, 75% of aquaculture
production is from finfish culture in ponds
utilizing about 90% of
area used for aquaculture. Seed, fertilizer, feed labour, marketing and
interest are
the major items of expenditure in pond culture operation.
The economic viability of aquaculture can be
improved by: (1) increasing
per ha yield; (2) reducing cost of production and (3) procuring better
price for
producer by qualitative improvement of the produce and
creating better marketing facilities, strategy and
channels.

The following eight tables furnish cost of and returns from

selected aquaculture systems from different
parts of the world.
It may be noted that economic data of aquaculture systems are hard
to get and hence
strictly uniformly done analysis for all systems
presented was not possible.

TABLE I

Costs of and Returns from some Aquaculture

systems/ha in Philippine s (1975)
(In Philippine Peso)
Intensive Intensive Extensive
  Monoculture of Polyculture(milkfish and Polyculture(milkfish and
milkfish shrimp) shrimp)
A. Construction Costs 16,000 16,000 16,000
B. Operation Costs 10,114 9,025 4,855
Production (Kg/ha/yr 3,250 kg 2,750 (2500 1,00kg (800 M)
C.
value 14,000 peso M&S) 16,750 Peso 8,000 (200 S) Peso
D. Cost/kg 3.11 3.64 5.28
E. Profit 3,886 7,725 3,145
Rate of Return on
F. 24.2% 48.0% 20.0%
investment
Rate of Return on
G. 38.4% 86.0% 65.0%
Operation cost
Cost of Fertilizer and
feed
H. 39.3% 28.0% 3.3%
with Operat. Cost

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TABLE II

Cost of and Return from some Aquaculture /systems/ha in Indonesia (1975) (In Rupia)
Intensive
monoculture of Intensive polyculture
of milkfish and
   
milkfish shrimp
A. Construction Costs 6000,000 6000,000
B. Operating Costs 260,000 354,700
C. Production (kg/ha/yr) 1000 kg 960 kg (700M + 260S)
value 350,000 604,000
D. Cost/ha 260 369
E. Profit 89,400 249,300
F. Rate of Return on Investment 15% 42%
Rate of Return on Operating
G. 34% 70%
Cost
H. Cost of Fertilizer and/or 8.9 10.1
  Feed within Operating Co st 8.9% 10.1%(only fertilizer)

TABLE III

Cost of and Return from some Aquaculture systems in Hong Kong

Polyculture of Grey Mullet Monoculture of
and Chinese carp in 1 ha Grey Mullet 8 ha
 
pond pond
(in Us
$)
$)
(in US
A. Capital Investment 23,011 48,000
B. Operating Costs 14,792 68,250
C. Income 23,692 90,000
D. Profit 8,900 21,750
E. Rate of Return on Investment 39.0% 4.5%
F. Rate of Return on Operating Costs 60.0% 92.0%
G. Cost of fertilizer and/or feed within Operating
42.6% 22.0%
cost

TABLE IV

Costs of and Return from some Aquaculture systems in selected countries

1972 1971 1970
1970 1970 1969
China
India
Ireland

Japan

Malaysia Poland

Taiwan Indian Rainbow

Common carp
Common carp

Common
    Province eel carp carp
carp in a 3 & Chinese culture in a
culture in 4 culture in culture in a
ha pond culture in (0.61 555 ha state
ha farm US a 3.5ha 35 ha farm
(000 yen) ha pond (M) farm (ZI.)
$ pond(I.Rs) (£ Ir)
A. Capital Investment 20,450 90.022 35,000 450 4,300 25,326
B. Operating Cost 56,725 45,322 11,540 2,539 333 4,375
C. Income 70,000 58,400 24,000 3,894 692 5,665
D. Profit 13,275 13,078 12,460 1,355 359 1,290
Rate of Return on
E. 65.0% 15.0% 36.0% 300% 8.3% 5.0%
Investment
Rate of Return on
F. 23.0% 29.0% 108.0% 53% - 30.0%
Operating Cost
G. Cost of Fertilizer 32.0% 5.8% 51.0%  51% 35.0% 43.5%

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and/or only feed
Feed within
Operating Cost

TABLE V

Cost of and Return from Tilapia Culture in N.E. Brazil/ha (1974) B. Cr.
A. Fixed Cost   2,087
B. Variable Cost 11,759
C. Total Income 18,514 (per ha yield being 4,872 kg/yr)
D. Profit   4,668
E. Rate of Return on
Operating Cost (variable cost) 33%

TABLE VI

Costs of and Returns from Channel Cat-fish culture/ha in U.S.A. (1969) in US $

Under Superior
    Average Management
Manager
421 (cost of feed C 373 (cost of feed
C
A. Operating Cost
50%) 50%)
B. Income 530 636
C. Profit (before tax) 109 263
D. Cost of production
i. without interest on investment 0.66/kg 0.48/kg
ii. with interest on investment 0.73/kg 0.53/kg
iii. with interest on investment and 20% Tax on
0.75/kg 0.73/kg
Profit
  iv. Return on investment
(before tax) 23% 55%

TABLE VII

Cost-benefit of Aquaculture in Cages, Raceways and

Enclosures 800 g.wt 50,000 Channel Catfish
(Ictalurus
punctatus) for 160 days (in US $)
    Cages Raceways Fenced Enclosures
A. Capital Cost 2,764 3,908 3,232
B. Operational Costs 22,765 21,866 24,136
C. Gross Income 45,000 45,000 45,000
D. Net Income before Tax 19,471 19,226 17,632
E. Ratio of income to Operational Cost 76.0% 75.0% 64.0%
E. Cost of Production 0.71/kg 0.72/kg 0.76/kg
G. Cost of feed within Operational Cost 56.8% 56.3% 53%
H. Initial Capital Cost 11,500 47,000 14,500
I. Cost of labour within
Operational Cost 9.2% 6.5% 6.7%

TABLE VIII

Production Costs of 200,000 Milkfish in fenced

Enclosures with two crops/year and average weight
of
460g at harvest (in US $)
    Annual Cost
A. Capital Costs 4,305
B. Operational Costs 14,789

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C. Gross Income 40,000
D. Net Income before Tax 20,906
E. Ratio of Income to Operational Cost 104.2%
F. Cost of Production    0.4%
G. Cost of Feed within Operational Cost    4.3%
H. Initial Capital Cost 14,950

Comparisons on cost of production of the three intensive methods

of aquaculture, cages, raceways and
enclosures, reveal no important
difference. Therefore, factors other than costs of production are
more
important in order to c hoose the system. Initial capital required
and labour costs are of importance. If
capital is available and labour
is expensive, raceways should be used; if little capital is available
and
labour moderately inexpensive, cages should be used; and if capital
available is moderate and labour
least expensive, the situation is best
suited for enclosures. In situations where there is highly productive
shallow water and inexpe nsive labour, extensive culture in enclosure
is advisable.

More information on economics of aquaculture - feasibility

studies, cost benefit analysis etc. will be given
under “Socio-economic
aspects of aquaculture”.

7. SUGGESTIONS FOR BROADER READING

ADCP, 1975. Aquaculture planning in Africa. Report of the First Regional
Workshop on planning in Africa.
Accra. Ghana, 2 – 17 July
1975. Rome, FA O/UNDP, ADCP/REP/76/2: 114 pp.

ADCP, 1980. Fish Feed Technology - Lectures presented at FAOUNDP

Training course in Fish Feed
Technology held at the College
of Fisheries University of Washington, Seattle, Washington,
9 October - 15 December, 1978. Rome, FAO/UNDP, ADCP/REP/
80/11, 395 pp.

ADCP, 1984. Inland Aquaculture Engineering - Lectures presented at

the ADCP Inter-regional Training
course in Inland
Aquaculture e Engineering, Budapest, 6 June - 3 September
1983. Rome,
UNDP/FAO, ADCP/REP/84/21 591 pp.

Arrignon, J. 1976. Amenagement ecologique et piscicole des eau douce,

Gauthier-Villars, Paris, 322 pp.

Bagenal, T. (ed). 1978. Methods of assessment of fish production in

fresh water. Blackwell Scientific
Publications Ltd.
Oxford, IBP Hand b., (3): 365 pp. 3rd ed.

Balarin, J.A. and P. Hatton. 1979. Tilapia - a guide to their biology

and culture in Africa. Units of Aquatic
Pathology,
Univ. of Stirling, Scotland, 174 pp.

Bard, J. et al. 1974. Manuel de Pisciculture tropicale. Nogent-sur-Marine,

Centre technique forestier
tropical, 209 pp.
(Published in English, Spanish and Portuguese).

Bardach, J.E., J.H. Ryther and W.D. Mclarney. 1972. Aquaculture.

The farming and husbandry of fresh
water and marine organisms.
Wiley - Intersciences New York, 868 pp.

Bell, F.W. and E.R. Canterbury. 1976. Aquaculture for the developing
countries: A feasibility study.
Belinger Publ. Co., Cambridge, Mass. 264. 26 pp.

Ben Yami, M. 1986. Aquaculture: The importance of knowing its

limitations. CERES. 112: 15 – 18.

Boyd, C.E. 1982. Water quality management and pond fish culture.
Developments in Aquaculture and
Fisheries Science, 9.
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. Amsterdam. 318 pp.

Charkoff, M. 1978. Freshwater pond culture and pond management.,

Mt. Rainier, VITA Publications,
Manual Series 36: 196 pp. 2nd ed.

Chen, T.P. 1976. Aquaculture practices in Taiwan. Fishing News Books

Ltd., Farnham, Surrey, 162 pp.

CIFA. 1975. Symposium on aquaculture in Africa. Tech. Pap. 4.

Suppl I., Accra, Ghana (Committee on
Inland Fisheries of
Africa, FAO, Rome) also Proc. of subsequent CIFA meetings.
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2/24/22, 10:21 PM INTRODUCTION TO AQUACULTURE

Duyn Jr. C. Van. 1973. Diseases of fishes. London, Iliffa Books,

372 pp. 3rd ed.

EIFAC. 1986. Report on the working group on terminology format and

units of measurements as related
to flow - through systems.
European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission. Tech.
Pap. 49,
100 pp.

Fishelson, L. and Z. Yaron (comps.), 1983. International Symposium

on tilapia culture. Nazarett, Israel, 8
– 13 May 1983.
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv University, 624 pp.

Halver, J.E. and K. Tiews (ed) 1979. Fin fish nutrition and fish
feed technology. Schr.
Bunderforschungsant. Fisch.,
Hamb., (14/15). Vol. 1. 593 pp, Vol. 2: 622 pp.

Hepher, B. and Y. Pruginin. 1981. Commercial Fish farming with

special reference to fish culture in Israel.
John Wiley & Sons, New York. 261 pp.

Hickling, C.F. 1960. The farming of sish. Pergamon Press, Oxford.

88 pp.

Hoar, W.S. and D.J. Randall (eds). Fish Physiology Vol. 1 to 9.

From 1968 onwards, Academic Press,
New York.

Huet, M. 1972. Text book of fish culture: Breeding and cultivation

of fish. Fishing News (Books) Ltd.
Farnham, Surrey, U.K.
436 pp.

IDRC, 1987. Research priorities for African Aquaculture - Report of

a workshop held in Dakar, Senegal,
13 – 16 October, 1986,
IDRC - MR 149e, 172 pp.

Jhingran, V.G. 1982. Fish and fisherie s of India, 2nd ed.

Hindustan Publishing Co., New Delhi. 666 pp.

Kutty, M.N. 1986. Aquaculture development and training in Africa. in:

Huisman, E.A. (ed). Aquaculture
research in the African
Region. Proceeding of the African Seminar on aquaculture
organized by the International Foundation for Science (IFS).
Kisumu, Kenya, October,
1985. Wageningen, Netherlands,
Pudoc, 280 pp.

National Academy of Sciences. 1973. Nutrient requirements of trout,

salmon and catfish. Washington
D.C., U.S. Govt. Printing
Office, 57 pp.

Oren, O.H. (ed), 1981. Aquaculture of grey mullets.

Camridge University Press, International Biological
Progr.,
26 : 507 pp.

Pillay, T.V.R., 1977. Planning of Aquaculture Development - An introductory

guide. FAO, Rome and
Fishing News Books Ltd.,
Farnham, England. 77 pp.

Pillay, T.V.R., and W.A. Dill (Ed) 1979. Advances in Aquaculture.

Fishing News Books Ltd., Farnham,
Surrey, England.

Pullin, R.S.V. and Z.H. Shehadeh (Ed) 1980. Integrated agriculture - aquaculture
farming systems.
ICLARM conference Proceedings 4,
258 pp. International Center for Living Aquatic
Resources
Management and the Southeast Asian Center for graduate study
and Research
in Agriculture, College, Los Banos, Laguna,
Philippines.

Ricker, W.E. 1975. Computation and interpretation of biological

statistics of fish populations. Bulletin
Fish. Res. Bd.
Canada, 191, Ott awa, Canada, 382 pp.

Shang, Y.C. Aquaculture economics: basic concepts and methods of analysis.

Westview Press Boulder,
Colorado, 153 pp.

Stickney, R. R. 1979. Principles of warmwater aquaculture. John

Wiley & Sons, New York, Wiley
Interscience, 376 pp.

Tiews, K (ed). 1981. Aquaculture in treated effluents and reeviculation

systems. Proc. World Symposium
sponsored and supported by
EIFAC and ICES, held in Stavanger (Norway), 28–30 May,

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1980.
SCHR. Bundesforschungsanst. Fish., Hamburg, (16/17) Vol 1:
513 pp, Vol. 2: 666
pp.

Vollmann-Schipper, Von F. 1975. Transport. Lebender Fish

Verlag Paul Parey, Hamburg, 102 pp.

Wedemeyer, G.A., F.P. Meyer and L.Smith. 1976. Environmental stress

and fish diseases, Diseases of
fish. Book 5. S.F. Sniezko
and H.R. Axelrod. (eds). T.F.H. Publications Inc., Jersey
city,
N.J., 192 pp. (see also books 1 to 4 in the series
on Fish Diseases).

Wheaton, F.W. 1977. Aquaculture Engineering. Wiley Interscience,

New York, 708 pp.

Wijkstrom, V. and E. Jul-Larsen. 1986. Aquaculture: Tackling of the

major constraints. CERES. 112: 19 –
22.

Wohlfarth and G.I. Hulata. 1981. Applied genetics of tilapias.

ICLARM stud. Rev. 6 : 26 pp.

National Reviews for Aquaculture Development in Africa: Complete

series from 1 to 13. FAO Fish Circula
rs: 770 - 1 to
770 - 13, FAO, Rome (see list attached Appendix II).

Note: Those interested in a more complete listing of publications in

aquaculture are directed to:

Coche, A.G. (Comp.), 1984. Aquaculture in marine waters.

A list of selected reference books
and monographs,
1957 – 1984. FAO Fish. Circ., 723, Rev. 2: 29 pp.

Coche, A.G. (Comp.), 1984. A list of selected reference

books and monographs, 1951 – 1984.
FAO Fish. Circ.,
724, Rev. 2: 30 pp.

Coche, A.G. (Comp.), 1985. A list of selected FAO publications

related to aquaculture, 1966 –
1985. FAO Fish. Circ.,
744, Rev. 1, 40 pp.

Aquaculture Journals/Magazines/Abstracts

Aquaculture Engineering. Applied Science Publishers Ltd., Ripple

Road, Darking, Essex I G 11 OSA,
England, U.K.

Aquaculture. Elsevier Scientific Publishing co., P.O. Box 211,

Amsterdam, 1000 AE, Netherlands.

Aquaculture Magazine. Achill River Corp., P.O. Box 2329,

Asheville, North Carolina, 28802, USA.

Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA). Fisheries

Information, Data and Statistics Service,
FAO, Fisheries
Dept. via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

Bamidgeh. Fish Breeders Association. Nir David, 19 150, Israel.

Fish Farming International. A. J. Heighway Publications Ltd.,

Heighway House, 87 Blackfriars Rd,
London SE 1 9HB, UK
(monthly from 1982)

Freshwater and Aquaculture Contents Tables. (FACT) FAO, Fisheries

Dept., Fisheries Information, Data
and Statistics Service,
00100, Rome, Italy.

Pisciculture Francaise. Syndicat des Pisciculture - Salmon

culteurs de France. 11 rue Milton, Paris
75009, France

Progressive Fish Culturist. American Fisheries Society, 5410 - Grosvenor

Lane, Bethesda, Md 20014,
USA.

(for a more comprehensive listing see Coche, A.G. 1983. List of

serials, newsletters, bibliographies and
meeting proceedings related
to aquaculture. FAO Fish. Cir. No. 758 : 65 pp.)

APPENDIX I

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AFRICAN REGIONAL AQUACULTURE CENTRE

POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN AQUACULTURE
AND
MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY (AQUACULTURE)
(RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY)

Course listing and unit load

Hours per week

Semester 1 (15 weeks)
(Lect) (Pract) (Field) (Units)
1. AQC 630 Introduction to Aquaculture 1 2 - 2
2. AQC 650 Selection of sites for Aquaculture 2 2 3 3
3. AQC 619 Selection of species for Aquaculture 2 3 2 3
4. AQC 611 Seed Production 2 3 2 3
5. AQC 640 Design & Construction of ponds 2 3 6 3
6. AQC 620 Statistical analysis in aquaculture 1 2 - 2
10 15 13 16
Semester 2 (15 weeks)
1. AQC 612 Nutrition and artificial feeding 1 4 - 3
2. AQC 613 Sanitation and Fish Health 1 4 - 3
3. AQC 631 Pond Culture 2 4 6 4
4. AQC 632 Cage Culture 1 4 - 3
5. AQC 633 Culture of Molluscs 1 3 3 3
6 19 9 16
Semester 3 (14 weeks)
1. AQC 730 Penculture 1 - 2 2
2. AQC 731 Running water cult ur e 1 3 - 2
3. AQC 733 Culture in recirculating systems 1 2 - 2
4. AQC 734 Culture in rice field s 1 - 2 2
5. AQC 720 Stocking of open waters 1 - 2 2
6. AQC 740 Post-harvest Technology 1 4 2 3
7. AQC 735 Socio-economic aspects of aquaculture 1 2 - 2
8. AQC 722 Acquaculture Extension 1 - 6 2
9. AQC 723 Aquaculture Planning 1 - 2 1
9 11 16 18
AQC 830 Aquaculture Seminar 1
AQC 831 Aquaculture Project 10
* 1 Unit=1 hour lecture or 2–3 hours practicals or 4–6 hrs field work per week 14–15.

APPENDIX II

A list of the National Reviews for Aquaculture Development in

Africa
Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.
1984 1. Zimbabwe. FAO Fish. Circ.
(770.1): 69 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1984 2. Liberia. FAO Fish. Circ.,
(770.2): 46 p.
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Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1984 3. Sierra Leone. FAO Fish.
Circ., (770.3) : 55P.

Balarin, J.D., Etudes nationales pour le developpement de l'aquaculture

1984 en Afrique
4. Togo. FAO
Circ. Peches, (770.4): 66 p.

Balarin, J.D., Etudes nationales pour le developpement de l'aquaculture

1984 en Afrique
5. Benin. FAO
Circ. Peches, (770.5):52 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1985 6. Cameroon. FAO Fish.
Circ., (770.6):88 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1985 7. Kenya. FAO Fish. Circ.,
(770.7):96 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1986 8. Egypt. FAO Fish. Circ.,
(770.8):128 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1985 9. Ethiopia. FAO Fish. Circ.,
(770.9) : 109 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1985 10. Uganda. FAO Fish. Circ.,
(770.10):109 p.

Balarin, J.D., National reviews for aquaculture development in Africa.

1985 11. Tanzania. FAO Fish.
Circ., (770.11): 105 p.

Deceunick, V., 13. Etudes nationales pour le developpement de l'aquaculture

en Afrique. Republique
Centrafricaine. FAO Circ. Peches,
(770.13): 68 p.

In preparation
(FAO, Rome)

12. Malawi

14. Zambia

15. Congo

16. Gabon

17. Sudan

18. Ghana

19. Lesotho

20. Swaziland

21. Cote d'Ivoire

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