World Aquaculture March 2019

22 MARCH 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG of rivers and canals, and 2.907 million ha of reservoirs that can be utilized for aquaculture purposes. Ponds and tanks are the prime resources for freshwater aquaculture, although only about 40 percent of the available area is used for aquaculture currently. Ponds in eastern India are typically homestead ponds of less than 1 ha in size, while watershed ponds in western India are larger, covering expanses of between 15-25 ha each. In northern India, open waters with inflows are common, while southern India has watershed ponds, termed tanks, that are largely used for crop irrigation. In several parts of the country, ponds and tanks are state-owned or communal and are leased out for periods of 3-5 years. About 1.2 million ha of potential brackishwater area in India is suitable for farming. In addition, about 9.0 million ha of salt-affected areas are also available. However, in shrimp culture, only 15 percent of the potential area has been put to use for that purpose. Freshwater Aquaculture Carps are the most important species group farmed in freshwater in India. The three Indian major carps, namely catla Catla catla , rohu Labeo rohita and mrigal Cirrhinus mrigala contribute over 90 percent of the total Indian aquaculture production. Introduced during the 1970s into the carp polyculture system in the country, three exotic carps – the silver carp Hypophthalmichthys moltrix , grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella and common carp Cyprinus carpio – now form a second important group. Among the catfishes, Philippine catfish or magur Clarias batrachus is the only species that has received a lot of attention. The stinging catfish or singhi Heteropneustes fossilis is F isheries and aquaculture is an important food production sector in India, providing nutritional security to the food basket, contributing to agricultural exports and engaging about 14 million people in different activities. With diverse resources ranging from deep seas to mountain lakes and more than 10 percent of the global biodiversity in terms of fish and shellfish species, the country has shown sustained increments in the growth of fish production since independence in 1947. India contributes about 6.3 percent of global fish production, ranking second in aquaculture and third in fisheries. The sector contributes 1.1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 5.15 percent of the agricultural GDP of India. The total fish production of 10.1 million t presently has nearly 65 percent contribution from the inland sector and nearly the same from culture fisheries. Annual production of carp seed is around 25 billion and that of shrimp about 12 billion, with increasing diversification in the recent past. Along with foodfish culture, ornamental fish culture and high-value fish farming are gaining recent importance.  Fish and fish products have presently emerged as the largest group of agricultural exports from India, with 1.05 million t in terms of quantity and about US$ 468 million in value. This accounts for around 10 percent of the total exports of the country and nearly 20 percent of the agricultural exports. More than 50 different types of fish and shellfish products are exported to 75 countries around the world.  Indian Aquaculture Resources Aquaculture resources in India include 2.36 million ha of ponds and tanks, 0.798 million ha of floodplain lakes, 195,210 km An Overview of Aquaculture in India M. Menaga LEFT: Carp culture in earthen ponds (Photo: CIFA). RIGHT: Carp culture harvest in India (Photo: Central Agriculture University, Lembucherra). Fisheries and aquaculture is an important food production sector in India, providing nutritional security to the food basket, contributing to agricultural exports and engaging about 14 million people in different activities. With diverse resources ranging from deep seas to mountain lakes and more than 10 percent of the global biodiversity in terms of fish and shellfish species, the country has shown sustained increments in the growth of fish production since independence in 1947.