what is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture, is that the culture of aquatic organisms like fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. it's additionally known as as aqua-farming. It involves cultivation of fresh and seawater animals and plants beneath the controlled conditions. Mariculture refers to cultivation practiced in marine environments and in underwater habitats,

The culture or farming of fishes is termed as Pisciculture. Pisciculture springs from 2 words Pisce (s) which implies fish or fishes and culture which implies rearing, raising or breeding of living things. so Pisciculture is outlined as a branch of farming that deals with rational deliberate culturing of fish or fishes to marketable size in an exceedingly controlled water body like tanks, ponds, stream or ocean.

Definition:

"The term 'Aquaculture' means that culture of all aquatic forms like fish, prawns, molluscs and ocean weeds in contemporary, briny in addition as marine waters".

  Scope:

 In Republic of India there's a huge distinction within the food and feeding habits. Some Indians area unit strictly eater whereas others area unit terribly specific concerning fish and meat in their daily diet. However, Republic of India is poor country and there's a giant economic gap between the poor and made peoples and thence there area unit 2 standing of living. a number of them living in interior villages area unit still in search of enough food. In those conditions beside agriculture, fish farming becomes a necessary mode of living for people. It fulfills the requirement of food to some extent.

 fish farming is Associate in Nursing casy job for many of the Indian folks living in interior villages as a result of still the entire aquatic space in our country varies from 40-50 lakh acres. It includes the water ponds, reservoirs, lakes, streams, pools and rivers. So, fish farming are often wiped out easier manner as compaired with the other business.

Importance:

 the strategy of fish culture isn't a replacement follow. it's going to last Irom a minimum of thre thousand years ago. however in contrast to agriculture, that has been the foremost necessary manner of getting food onto land, cultivation has till recently contributed terribly less to human beings because of ancient strategies of fish culture. Now, new techniques area unit evolved within the cultivation and ultimately the assembly per capita is inflated. Hence, the image is ever-changing speedily as cultivation is gaining a lot of importance within the today's modern world, because of increase in population and absence of food.

 The importance of aquaculture: 

1. function food to man.

 2. provide prime quality animal macro molecule.

 3. supply of prime quality nutrition made oil c.g. cod liver oil from Codfish

 4. animal oil is employed in medication and in soap creating business and for analysis functions.

 5. It boosts economy of the state by manner of accelerating per capita production.

 6. It generates employment opportunities for the jobless persons. 

7. cultivation uplifts the socio-economic standing of the folks of Indian sub- continent.

 8. It earns exchange revenue by transport of fish to foreign countries. 

9. The culture of omamental  fishes use for aquariums. 

10. The culture of larvicidal fishes to manage of two-winged insects larvae.

1I. the utilization of fish as food decreases the pressure on alternative food things.

present status of  aquaculture in India:

 Indian cultivation has shown considerably higher growth rates than those of capture fisheries within the last decade, with the number increasing from one.01 million tons in 1990 to two.10 million tons in 2000, fresh cultivation has continuing to make a significant share of the cultivation production, with a contribution of over ninety fifth in terms of amount it's solely the 3 Indian major carps, that share the maximum amount as 1.6 million tones. On the opposite hand, shrmp forms the most part of briny water cultivation sector of agriculture  production . fresh cultivation in Republic of India has created notable probability in recent years with a growth trend almost like that of the globe. throughout the past time period, Indian fish production registered wonderful grow from a awfully low 0.75 mt in 1950 to 6.3mt in 2002, throughout the past 20 years, the inland

fisheries in Republic of India, that embrace each capture and culture fishenes, have registered tremendous growth and alter. till the mid-1980s, capture fisheries were maor supply of interior fish production. however since then, fish production from natural waterways, like rivers and lakes, has trended downwardly, primarily because of a proliferation of water control structures, indiscriminate fishing, and surroundings degradation

Fresh water fish culture:

 cultivation in Republic of India is especially carp based mostly and carp alone contributes over one.3 million tons per annum. This production comes from zero.6 million angular distance of water ponds. the common production level is two tons / angular distance / period of time. Indian major carps area unit the most species polite i.e. Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Cirrihimus mrigalu water fish culture needs varied varieties of ponds that vary full, space and quality of the food. in an exceedingly workplace the ponds area unit created on the brink of cach alternative and differing kinds of ponds area unit used for various functions 

Types of fish ponds:

 Breeding Ponds: The ponds for Brooders (adult male and female)

 Hatching pond: pond wherever fertilised fish eggs area unit hatched into fry till they developed into fish

  Nursery pond: pond wherever fry (small male and female) fish / fishes area unit rear along

Rearing pond: pond wherever fingerlings area unit reared into cultivator 

Stocking pond: pond wherever grow out fish / fishes area unit rear till they earned market size

Nursery Pond: 

Fish culture is carried out in three phases (three-tier system) comprising nursery phase (rearing three-day-old spawn to fry), rearing phase (rearing fry to fingerling stage) and grow-out phase (rearing fingerlings to marketable size). Of the three phases, the nursery phase is most crucial and needs greatest attention of fish seed farm managers.

 The fingerlings and fries are kept in small and specially built ponds called as Nursery Ponds. These ponds are shallow, rectangular structures in open fields. They are about 15-20 meter (long) x  10-12 meter (width) x 1- 1'5 meter (depth) in size, special preparation is taken about the sun rays because the fries need sun rays and warm water for their better development.

 Nursery pond is supposed to be the smallest pond in the fish farming and covers about 5% of the total area of the fish farm. The fries when transferred in this pond are small and they develop on the yolk of the egg, but soon they grow and move in search food. They are good feeder so the nursery pond is kept full of feeds, Feed comprises of zoo and phytoplanktons which consists of Rotifers, Cyclops, Daphnia, small larvae, Protozoan etc. For the better development of planktons the pond is treated with manures.

Rearing Ponds:

 These ponds may be seasonal or perennial and used for rearing advanced fry up to fingerlings (50mm and above) for 2-3 months, It is fairly larger than the nursery pond and has the size of 25x12x1 m. Here the fry is grown for about 2 months until they reach fingerling stage. Young ones of a fish having more than 2.5 cm to 10cm in total length is known as fingerlings.

Stocking Ponds:

 These are larger than nursery and rearing ponds. The size of the stocking pond should be 0.1 to 2.0 ha. The fingerlings are stocked and grown in this pond until they attain marketable size. Stocking ponds are constructed in 65% area of the fish farm. These ponds are rectangular, deep and full of water and fish food. The fingerlings are transferred in these ponds when they are about 18-20 cm. in size.