WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2017 27 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 28) Pen Culture Pen culture can be an ideal technology for enhancing fish production from the 0.5 million ha of shallow floodplain wetlands in states like Bihar, Assam and West Bengal (Fig. 6). These shallow and macrophyte-infested water bodies, considered unproductive and unsuitable for other economic activities, can be efficiently utilized for enhancing fish production through scientific management. Bihar is endowed with a vast area of oxbow lakes (mauns) and natural depressions (chaurs) that can play a major role in enhancing fish production through pen culture. In Bihar, where fisherman cooperative societies for wetland management are non-existent, tablefish production through individual pen farming could be a viable option. States like Assam and Bihar, although self sufficient in fish seed production, are deficient in large fingerlings (>10 cm) suitable for openwater stocking. Pen culture technology can be used for table fish production and seed rearing for stock enhancement purposes in wetlands. Fish species diversification based on regional preference would ensure popularization and profitability of enclosure culture practices. Success Story: Pen Culture in Barela Chaur. Bihar state has around 200,000 ha of floodplain wetlands. Barela chaur is one such shallow water body situated in Patepur block, Vaishali, North Bihar. Fishermen living in the vicinity are mainly dependent on fish catch from this chaur for their livelihood. A group of interested fishermen from this village were trained at CIFRI, Barrackpore to initiate pen culture in a 1-ha area in Barela chaur under institute guidance. They were provided HDPE netting and seed material comprised of rohu, catla, mrigal, grass carp and common carp fingerlings (11,600) for stocking the pen. No artificial feed was provided. After five months, and a survival rate of 62 percent, 2.8 t of fish worth US$ 330 were harvested. A costbenefit ratio of 2.33 was achieved with a per capita profit of US$5.12 with 106 person-days of labor. FIGURE 5. Cage culture of pangasius catfish in Indian reservoirs.
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