42 June 2010 Giant murrel farming, an urgent need for Indian fish farmers M.A. Haniffa,1 M. James Milton, Y. Ananth Kumar, S.V. Arun Singh and R. Arthi Manju Among air breathing fishes, murrels constitute a unique group of food fishes fetching high market value because of their taste, few intramuscular spines and medicinal value (Haniffa et al 2004). Murrels are air breathers and survive in oxygen depleted water bodies; hence, they are suitable for profitable culture in shallow systems. In as much as the head resembles that of snakes they are termed snakeheads. About 28-30 Channa species have been reported in the global scenario and 8-10 species occur in India (Table 1). As a result of anthropogenic stresses, murrels are under threat and, according to CAMP (1998), captive breeding and river ranching are urgently needed for conservation of threatened native fish species. The giant murrel, Channa marulius, the striped murrel, C. striatus and the red line murrel, C. micropeltes, are widely preferred in India as well as Southeast Asia because of their large size as food fishes (Ng and Lim 1990). When compared to the striped murrel, the giant murrel is fast growing and reaches a maximum size of 5.3 kg with longevity ranging from 5-9 years (Parameswaran 1975). There are reports from Nepal for a maximum length of 2.5 m and weight of Table 1. Channa species and categories of threat in Indian rivers and reservoirs (IUCN 1994, CAMP 1998). S. No Species Name Reference Country Status Purpose 1 Channa amphibeus (Chel or Borna McClelland 1845 India Food snake head) /Ornamental 2 Channa barca (barca or tiger snakehead) Hamilton 1822 India 3 Channa bleheri (rainbow or jewel Vierke 1991 India Ornamental snakehead) 4 Channa gachua (dwarf, gacha or frog) Hamilton 1822 India Vulnerable Ornamental 5 Channa marulius (bullseye, murrel, Hamilton 1822 India Lower Risk- Near snakehead) Threatened Food fish 6 Channa micropeltes (giant or red) Cuvier 1831 India Critically endangered Food fish 7 Channa orientalis (Ceylon or ceylones) Schneider 1801 India Vulnerable Ornamental 8 Channa punctata (dotted or spotted Bloch 1793 India Lower Risk – Near snakehead) Threatened Food fish 9 Channa stewarti (golden snakehead) Playfair 1867 India Ornamental 10 Channa striata (chevron or striped Bloch 1797 India Lower Risk – Least snakehead) Concern Food fish Giant murrel - Channa marulius 15 kg for C. marulius. The giant murrel is widely distributed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma, China and Thailand. In India it inhabits freshwater in almost all the states, including West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
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