Pond Fish Farming

Integrated Fish Farming

Fish Seed Production

Fish Farming is an age old activity and in practice from ancient times. The concept of composite fish culture was developed by ICAR in late seventies under a coordinated composite fish culture project. This comprises the culture of 3 indigenous species of fish viz. rohu, catla and mrigal and 3 exotic fish i.e silver carp, grass carp and common carp, keeping in view their different food habit and habitat. This practice has been very well accepted by the farmers of Haryana as its cultural practices are analogous to agriculture. The successful fish culture requires ploughing of pond, addition of manure, stocking of fish seed; eradication of unwanted aquatic plants and animals, watering the pond; harvesting the crop and marketing of the produce. The fish culture technologies and economics are simple and understandable to the fish farmers. To produce one kilogram fish, the requirements are:-

Cost of production of fish is Rs. 15/kg and the sale price on an average is Rs.30/- per kg. A net profit of Rs.61,000 per hectare per year is obtained, The pond fish culture practice is being adopted by farmers in all the districts of the state. There are 4922 fish culture units having an area of more than 8760 hectares in the state. Out of these 3082 pond with 6584.44 hectare water area are village panchayati ponds. The ownership of these ponds vested with the panchayats. Panchayat leases out their ponds to the farmer's for fish farming. These village ponds are generally visited by cattle for drinking water. The cattle refuse dung and urine in the pond. The organic waste released by the cattle are recycled into manure and help in the production of plankton which is basic food for fish. Thus all the village fish culture ponds in Haryana are the good example of fish cum cattle farming. With the passage of time, the farmers have modified the technologies as per the need. Generally Rohu,catla, mrigal and common carp are used for culture. The stocking density is kept at 20000 fish seed per hectare. Farmers have adopted the technique of multiple harvesting. which give better returns. Govt. provides 20% subsidy to general category while 25% to scheduled caste fish farmers for excavation of new pond/ renovation of old pond and fisheries inputs.

Fisheries Department provides technical and financial assistance for integrated fish farming. The Integrated fish farming practices utilize the waste from different components of thc system viz. live stock, poultry, duckery, piggery and agriculture byproducts for fish production. 40-50 kg of organic wastes are converted into one kg of fish, while the pond silt is utilized as fertilizers for the fodder crops, which in turn is used to raise livestock. The system of integrated farming is very wide.
The system provides meal, milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, mushroom, fodder & grains in addition to fish. It utilizes the pond dykes which otherwise remain unutilized for the production of additional food and income to the farmer. The possible'integrated farming systems are given below:

Fish cum Dairy

Fish-cum-Dairy Farming is considered as an excellent innovation for the use of organic wastes. Use of cow/buffalo manure in fish farming is a commonly prevailing practice. On an average, one cow/buffalo excretes 12000 kg of dung and 8000 litre urine per year. The cattle faeces and urine are beneficial to the filter-feeding and omnivorous fishes. On an average, 3-4 cows/buffaloes can provide sufficient manure to fertilize one hectare pond. In this system, farmer gets milk, fish and calf as well, which increases revenue and reduces input costs. The system gives a net profit of Rs.1,14,000/- per year from one hectare land.

Fish cum Piggery

The pig dung as an organic manure for fish culture has certain advantages over cattle manure. The waste produced by 20-30 pigs is equivalent to one ton of Ammonium Sulphate applied to the soil.The pigs are fed largely on kitchen waste, aquatic plants and crop byproducts. At present, fish-pig integration is practiced in all the developing countries. Several exotic breeds of pigs have been introduced in the country to augment pork production. The popular races are the white Yorkshire,Berkshire and Landrace. The pigsties should provide adequate protection from adverse weather conditions. A run or courtyard adjacent to the pig house is essential. The size of the pig house depends on the number of pigs to be reared. Floor space is provided @3-4 m² for every pig weighing 70-90 kg.The pigsties are built mostly at the pond sites and even over the ponds. The washings from the pigsties containing dung and urine are either channelised directly into the pond or composed before its application. The boars, sows and finishing stocks are housed separately. Maize, groundnut, wheat- bran, fishmeal, mineral mixture provide base for concentrated feed mixture. In advanced countries,garbage is widely used to economize pork production and provided after pre-cooking when pig dung is applied to a pond. It enhances the biological productivity of the pond. A portion of dung is directly consumed by some fish also. The excreta voided by 35-40 pigs is found adequate to fertilize one hectare of water. Integrated fish-pig farming is a viable and feasible scientific approach to augment fish production at low cost. The net income in this integration from one hectare of pond is Rs.l,39,000/-.

Fish-cum-Poultry

The droppings of birds in this system are utilized to fertilize the pond. Poultry litter recycled into fish pond produces 4500-5000 kg fish per hectare per year. Broiler production provides good and immediate return to the farmers. Success in production depends mainly on the efficiency of the farmer, experience, aptitude and ability, in the management of the flock. This involves procurement of better brood stock, housing, brooding equipment, feeders, water trays and management practices,which also includes prevention and control of diseases. The poultry litter is applied to the pond in daily doses at a rate of 40-50 kg per hectare. The application of litter may be deferred during the days when algal blooms appear in the ponds. One adult chicken produces about 25 kg of compost poultry manure in one year. 500-600 birds would provide sufficient manure for fertilization of one hectare of fish pond. Farmer can get a net income of Rs.l,37,157/- from one hectare of pond in one year. Govt. provides financial assistance to the farmers for promoting this system.

Fish cum Duck farming

Fish cum Duck Integration is most common in the developing countries. This type of integration is not popular in northern states of India. Ducks are of several types and Khaki Campbell is recommended for fish-cum-duck integration Fishpond being a semi-closed biological system with several aquatic animals and plants provides an excellent disease-free environment for the ducks. In turn, ducks consume juvenile frogs, tadpoles and dragonfly etc. there by making a safe environment for fish. Duck droppings go directly into the pond, which in turn provide essential nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus that stimulate growth of natural food organisms. Ducks also help in aerating the pond water, alongwith bottom racking. About 300 ducks are enough to fertilize a pond of one hectare. The system results in a net income of Rs. 77500/- per year per hectare. However, due to difficulty in marketing of eggs and duck meat, the system is not very common in the state.

Fish cum Horticulture

Integration of fish cum flowers, fruit plants, vegetables and mushroom can be takcn up. The pond humus is used as manure for plantation. Pond water can be used for plants which is rich in nutrients, thereby decrease the cost on inorganic fertilizers. The pond dykes are used for the plantation. The culture practice can be taken up as per suitablity to the location i.e. location specific. The economics also varies and depends on the type of plantation.

Quality fish seed is the pre-requisite for successful fish farming. Department is using the techniques of hypophysation for the production of fish seed of culturable varieties. The breeding season of common carp fish in Haryana is February-March every year where as the breeding season of other species is monsoon season. Brood stock of required fish are maintained and sex-wise segreggate is made two month before. The pairing is made and injected with calculated dose of pituitary gland or ovaprim, ovatide or ovpal is injected to male and female fish. Within the 6-8 hours of the injection eggs from female and sperm from male are released in the water. The fertilizer is external. Normally one kg fish releases about one lakh eggs. The hatchlings are known as spawn. The spawn is reared in the nursary pond. After 15 days, the spawn attains the size of 25 mm and ready for stocking in the pond. More than 50 lakh fry can be produced per hectare fish seed farm in both the seasons in a year. The income from sale of fish seed is Rs. 3.25 lakh approx. per year @ Rs. 6500 per lakh. Fisheries department provides technical and financial assistance for setting up of ecotype hatchery and fish seed rearing units.