60 JUNE 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG fish” of Manipur by the state government. Pengba is an omnivorous fish that feeds mainly on zooplankton and algae as juveniles and macrovegetation as adults (Basudha and Vishwanath 1999). The fish is suitable for culture in ponds, with its lower trophic level food and feeding habits, through natural food and supplementary artificial feed. Recently, the fish is considered as potential candidate species for diversification of carp culture related to its high commercial value, better taste and good flesh quality. The Aquaculture Division, College of Fisheries, Central Agriculture University (COF-CAU), Agartala, Tripura and other research institutions have developed breeding, seed production and grow-out technology for pengba. A brief account of pengba hatchery and growout technology developed by COF-CAU is discussed here. Captive Breeding In general, pengba breeds in riverine conditions during the onset of southwest monsoon. It does not reproduce naturally in artificial rearing conditions without hormone induction. It is a seasonal and riverine spawner that attains sexual maturity in the second year at 200300 g body weight. Females are relatively larger than males. During the breeding season, males and females move in shoals and migrate from beels to rivers. Spawning occurs once per year during the monsoon season (June-August), with a spawning peak in July. Unlike many other carps, sexual dimorphism cannot be The freshwater aquaculture sector of many South Asian countries has been diversifying in recent years, with incorporation of several new species into culture systems. Development strategies need to promote diversification of aquaculture through production of locally available fish species. Carps, catfish, prawns, mollusks and ornamental fish provide options for diversification of species cultured. Inclusion of some of these species has resulted in greater production (Das and Mishra 2016) and has expanded the species scope for fish farmers and consumers. In addition, new indigenous and exotic species can expand the scope of the culture system to increase fish yield and farmer income. Pengba Osteobrama belangeri is a medium-sized cyprinid that has gained importance relating to its superior taste, excellent nutritional profile, soft bony structure and high commercial value. It is distributed in the rivers and lakes of Asian countries like China (Yunnan Province), India and especially Myanmar. It has made an important impact on the fisheries of Loktak Lake of Manipur and in the northeastern states of India. However, wild populations of the fish are under severe threat due to habitat loss, construction of dams, introductions of invasive species, indiscriminate pesticide and herbicide use, loss of breeding grounds and overfishing of broodfish from the wild. It is considered “extinct in the wild” in Manipur and is classified as “near threatened” by the IUCN (IUCN 2010, Vishwanath 2010). To promote its conservation, pengba has been declared the “state Recent Trends in Breeding and Seed Production of Pengba, with Special Reference to Northeast India Pradyut Biswas, Alok Kumar Jena, Arun Bhai Patel, Kalpana Arambam, Amrita Pradhan, Soibam Khogen Singh and Rajkumar Debarjeet Singh FIGURE 1. Broodfish of pengba (A), female (B) and male (C). A. B. C.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=