64 JUNE 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG Aquaculture can play an increasing role in poverty alleviation, livelihood creation, food security and generating income and employment opportunities. As the onus of providing fish for the burgeoning population of the world is on the shoulders of the aquaculture sector, it needs to become more vibrant with adoption of efficient and effective fish farming technologies, diversification of species that would ensure higher production and affordable and secure nutrition for the resource poor, judicious resource utilization, economic viability and ecological sustainability. Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species India, the second largest aquaculture producer in the world, is known as a carp cultivating country because its aquaculture is primarily based on culture of a few indigenous and exotic carp species. The country has been undertaking programs and developing strategies for a second blue revolution in the eastern region through technologies, species diversification and utilization of resources. The country has 2,844 fish species, representing almost 12 percent of global fish biodiversity. Of these, 877 are indigenous freshwater species, 113 are brackishwater species, 1,563 are marine species and 291 are exotic species, as per the Annual Report, ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, 2012-13. Of the indigenous freshwater species, around 450 are included in a group commonly referred to as Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species (SIFFS). Some define SIFFS as those that grow to a maximum length of 5-25 cm at maturity (Felts et al. 1996). However, Sarkar and Lakra (2010) defined SIFFS as those that grow to a maximum size of 2530 cm as mature adults. These SIFFS inhabit widely diverse natural and human-made aquatic ecosystems that include rivers, tributaries, streams, floodplains, wetlands, lakes, low-lying paddy fields, swamps India, the world’s second most populous country with more than 1.34 billion people, is a developing country with a hunger severity considered “serious” by the Global Hunger Index (IFPRI 2014). India ranks 103 of 119 countries in the 2018 Global Hunger Index, as assessed on the basis of indicators such as inadequate food supply, child mortality and child undernutrition. In India, 38 percent of children under five years are stunted, 15 percent of the population is undernourished, and the under-five mortality rate is around 5 percent. Fighting hunger remains a major challenge in the country. The importance of fisheries and aquaculture in securing nutrition and livelihoods is globally recognized and extensively demonstrated. FAO (2009) forecasts the need to increase food production by around 40 percent by 2030 from the available resources to feed the growing world population and fish is one of the most important food items. The demand for fish and fish products has been increasing due to population growth and factors like the growing awareness of the health benefits of eating fish, taste preferences and increasing purchasing capacity of growing middle classes in countries like India and China. The estimated demand for fish in India in 2020 is around 13 million t, much more than the current production of 9 million t (201213). The target fixed for the XII Five-Year Plan is to increase inland fish production from 5.4 million t to 7.9 million t. The silver lining is that the global fish production has grown steadily in the last five decades with food fish supply increasing at an average annual rate of 3.2 percent, outpacing world population growth (1.6 percent) and this growth is attributable to growth in aquaculture (FAO 2014). It is expected that aquaculture alone will provide around two-thirds of global fish consumption by 2030 (FAO 2014). Securing Nutrition for Rural India through Culture and Enhancement of Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species Bibha Chetia Borah and Uttam Kumar Sarkar FIGURES 1 & 2. Catching SIFFS in natural resources using traditional traps and gears in Assam.
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