Book

Description

Aquaculture has been defined in many ways. It is often described as the rearing of aquatic organisms under controlled or semi-controlled conditions—thus, it is underwater agriculture. The other definition of aquaculture is the art of cultivating the natural products of water, the raising or fattening of fish in enclosed ponds. Another one is simply the large-scale husbandry or rearing of aquatic organisms for commercial purposes. Fish is a rich source of animal protein and its culture is an efficient protein food production system from the aquatic environment. The main role of fish culture is its contribution in improving the nutritional standards of people. Fish culture also helps in utilizing water and land resources. The fisheries sector is a crucial component of India’s economy, generating significant employment opportunities and contributing substantially to the country's economic growth and development. Over the past three decades, India's fisheries sector has witnessed significant growth and transformation. One of the most important features of fish culture is that the fish should have good food. Feeding and fertilization together make the pond culture successful. The growth of fish in the ponds is directly related to the amount of food available in the pond. The pond must provide all the food and nutrients that the fish need. But all fish do not need the same kind of food; different species feed on different types of food, and fish also feed on different foods depending on the stage of their life cycle. The fry eat the smallest phytoplankton in the pond. Adult fish feed on a particular kind of food; they enjoy plankton, aquatic weeds, worms, insect larvae, etc. As aquaculture technology has evolved, there has been a trend towards high yields and faster growth of fish. So, it is necessary to enhance the food supply by fertilization, supplementing the food with artificial feed, or providing all the nutrients to the fish in a cultivating field. As fish become less dependent on natural food organisms and more dependent on artificial food, the need for artificial nutritional feed becomes necessary.