INTEGRATED FISH CULTURE Lockdown Material

INTEGRATED
FISH CULTURE

Culturing fishes along with paddy, poultry, piggery
and dairy is called integrated fish culture. E.g. Indian major carps.

Advantages

The
expected advantages of the integrated system are

1.
Higher and stable farm productivity.

2.
Better diet for farm family.

3.
More cash flow and income.

4.
Better employment.

5.
Environment friendly

6.
Optimum resource utilization.

(a)
Paddy cum fish culture

Rearing of fish in paddy fields is called paddy cum
fish culture. E.g. Catla, Rohu. India has a traditional system of paddy - cum -
fish culture largely practiced in the coastal states of Kerala and West Bengal.
The stocking rate is 2000/ha.

Waterlogged paddy fields are the ideal natural
habitat of various types of fish. Fish in the paddy fields result in an
increased yield of grain varying from 5 - 15 percent. Fish consume large
quantities of weed, worms, insects, larvae and algae, which are either directly
or indirectly injurious to paddy.

Two
major systems of paddy-cum-fish culture may be undertaken in the freshwater
areas

1.
Paddy-cum-carp culture - carps are cultured along with paddy

2.
Paddy-cum-air breathing fish culture. Air breathing fishes like anabas, clarius
are cultured along with paddy.

The
paddy and fish are cultured together in water logged fields or they can be
cultured one after the other. ie. After paddy is harvested the land is watered
and fish are cultured on rotational basis.

(b)
Poultry cum fish culture

Rearing
of fishes along with poultry is called poultry cum fish culture.

The production of poultry dropping in
India is estimated to be about 1,300 thousand tons, which is about 390 metric
tones of protein. Utilization of this huge resource as manure in aquaculture
will definitely afford better conversion than agriculture.  500-600 birds would provide sufficient manure
for fertilization of one hectare of fish pond. Poultry house can be build on
the pond itself so that directly the droppings will fall into pond. E.g. India
major carps.

(c)
Dairy cum fish culture

Rearing
of fishes along with dairy farm is called dairy cum fish culture. On an
average, one cow/buffalo excretes 12000 kg of dung and 8000 litre urine per
year.  These two can be used to fertilize
the pond so that the production of fishes increase. E.g, Indian major carps.

(d)
Pig cums fish culture

Rearing
of fishes along with pig farm is called pi cum fish culture.  The pig dung acts as an excellent pond
fertilizer, which raises the biological production of the pond, and this, in
turn, increases the fish yield. The fish also feed directly on the pig excreta
which consists of 70 % digestible feed for the fish. Eg.Indian major carps.

RACEWAY
CULTURE SYSTEM

A raceway, also known as a flow-through system, is an
artificial channel used in aquaculture to culture aquatic organisms. Raceway
systems are among the earliest methods used for inland aquaculture. A raceway
usually consists of rectangular basins or canals constructed of concrete and
equipped with an inlet and outlet. A continuous water flow-through is
maintained to provide the required level of water quality, which allows animals
to be cultured at higher densities within the raceway.

Freshwater species such as trout,
catfish and tilapia are commonly cultured in raceways. Raceways are also used
for some marine species which need a constant water flow, such as juvenile
salmon,brackish water sea bass and sea bream and marine invertebrates such as
abalone.

Site
selection The most important factor to consider when selecting
a site for a raceway farm is the water supply. Water sources for raceway
aquaculture operations are usually streams, springs, reservoirs.

Construction Most
raceways are made of reinforced concrete. 
Earthen raceways with plastic liners cost little and are easy to build,
but cleaning and disinfecting them is difficult and plastic linings are
fragile.

Size A
raceway is most often a rectangular canal with a water current flowing from a
supply end to an exit end. The average depth of a raceway for fin fish, such as
rainbow trout, is about one metre. The raceway should not be curved, so the
flow will be uniform.

Water
flow The water flow rate in a raceway system needs to be
sufficiently high to meet the respiratory (dissolved oxygen) requirements for
the species concerned and to flush out metabolic wastes, especially ammonia.

A
typical raceway section requires a flow rate around 30 liters per second.

Maximum
load

The
maximum load of organisms that can be cultured in a raceway system depends on
the species, and particularly on the size of the species. For trout, stocking
rates of 30 to 50 kg/m3 are normal

Feed In
most raceway aquaculture food needs to be supplied. The composition of the
food, and the amount and time of feeding needs to be adjusted to the specific
species.

Waste
water The treatment of waste water issuing from raceway
farms is a major concern. Fish fecal matter and uneaten feed are typically the
major elements of solid waste produced in raceway aquaculture farms.  Technologies for the removal of solids
include microscreens, media filters.

Shrimp
farming through raceways Artificial raceways can produce large quantities of
shrimp. Super-Intensive Shrimp Production offers the capability to have no
outflow, saving on water costs, reducing the impact on local water resources
and reducing the environmental impact of shrimp farming.

A continuous water flow-through is provided to
provide the highest level of water quality, which allows animals to be cultured
at higher densities within the raceway.Species such as trout , catfish and
tilapia are commonly cultured in raceways. Raceways are also used for some
marine species which need a constant water flow, such as juvenile salmon ,
brackish water sea​​bass and sea bream and marine invertebrates such as abalone
.  These systems are also referred to as
flow through systems. The residence time of water in a raceway is very short
usually on the order of a few minutes instead of hours or days in ponds.