Sustainable aquaculture: agro‐ecological role of periphyton in ricefish farming

Abstract

Aquaculture has a highly promising role in producing fish biomass and fulfilling nutrient requirement for the growing population on the Earth. Worldwide, there exists several substrate-based fish production practices of which Acadja, Athkotu, Samarah, Phum, Aji gnuii assonii, Xeng fishery are popular. These substrate-based fisheries reported higher fish productivity than conventional supplemental feedbased aquaculture. Herbivorous fish, in general, have natural tendency to graze on periphyton ensuring maximum accessibility to resources or acquire enhanced growth in a periphyton fed environment. In waterlogged rice fields with rice stem as substrate, common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) fishery has been a great success among agro-farmers of Apatani Plateau in north-eastern India. The practice achieves 30% more economic return per annum rice only cultivation. The practice is a best example of sustainable utilization of natural resources for fish production and also a low-cost aquaculture to support poor farmers with shallow, waterlogged resources. The ecology of the rice fields in Apatani Plateau disclosed high richness and diversity of plankton and periphyton in aquatic column. The physico-chemical nature of rice fields directly or indirectly affects the growth and dynamics of periphyton during rice-growing periods. On availability of such aquatic resources, the fish, Common carp, shifts planktivorous or detritivorous feeding habits to periphytophagous habit and attains considerable growth over the stocked period. The present review highlights the immense potentiality of fish culture to explore periphytic resources and need of extending ricefish research towards a sustainable form of aquaculture in rice fields.

Assessment of Optimum Salinity Level for Maximum Growth and Survival of Nile Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758)

“…They are hardy, productive and fast growing warm-water fishes. They have short food chain and are recognized as adaptable and herbivorous which mostly eat plankton (zooplankton and phytoplankton), algae, aquatic macrophytes and other plant substances (Cnaani and Hulata, 2011;Ng and Romano, 2013;Saikia and Das, 2015). Therefore, tilapias support to reduce pressure on capture fisheries by rearing intensively (Yue et al, 2016;Sallam et al, 2017).…”

Impact of Different Salinity Levels on Growing Performance, Food Conversion and Meat Quality of Red Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) Reared in Seawater Tanks

“…Cichlid have shown acceptance for rearing and spawning in brackish or seawater environment (Lim and Webster, 2008). Due to shortage of freshwater in the biosphere, it would be helpful to raise tilapia stocks in brackish or seawater environments to certify a source of low-priced and high-quality protein (animal origin) for future (Ng and Romano, 2013;Saikia and Das, 2015). Therefore, tilapias may be suitable to reduce pressure on wild fish stocks (Dey, 2000;Ponzoni et al, 2011;Nguyen, 2015;Yue et al, 2016;Fitzsimmons, 2016).…”

Minapadi Trend, Need and Sustainability in Indonesia

“…The earlier literature states that the culture of integrating fish in rice fields has existed since the mid-19th century (in Cianjur, Singaparna, West Java), in Purwokerto and Muntilan around 1924, in Sumatra (1930), Manado (1897), Bali and Lombok around 1935 [10]. Minapadi in Indonesia was inseparable from Chinese immigrants, that's technology had existed in China around the Han dynasty century [11,12]. In 1993, has been seminar to discuss the integration of fish and rice fields in Indonesia [13].…”