Productivity enhancement through enclosure culture in a sub-tropical wetland of Bundelkhand region, India

Abstract

 The enclosure culture i.e. pen culture for in situ raising of stocking material was demonstratedin the Loni wetland, a sub-tropical wetland of Bundelkhand region in central India. Penstocked with 20000 fry of Indian major carps (IMCs), catla, rohu and mrigal in the ratio 1:2:1with initial weight 2.1, 2.83 and 2.82 g respectively @20 m2. The experiment was conductedduring September 2018 to November 2018 for two months. Catla, rohu and mrigal exhibitedsubstantial difference (p<0.05) in the growth pattern during the study with catla growingfrom 2.1±0.21 to 24.25±2.12 g, rohu from 2.83±0.25 to 19.58±1.81g whereas mrigal from2.82±0.23 to 15.42±1.10 g. The specific growth rate (SGR) recorded was 124.6, 108.9 and82.43% in catla, rohu and mrigal, respectively. The survival rate was maximum in rohu (76%),followed by catla (68%) and mrigal (42%). The benefit to cost ratio (BCR) estimated was 1.69and proportion of return on investment was 0.69. Through this intervention, the productivityof fish yield reached up to 450 kg ha-1 yr-1 from 165 kg ha-1 yr-1 which can be further increasedmanifolds. Based on the results of the present experiment, it can be suggested that rearing ofIMC fry to fingerlings in pen enclosures in wetlands is technically feasible and economicallyviable.  Keywords:Demonstration, Fingerlings, Floodplain wetland, Pen culture, Productivity, Stocking