Aquaculture

Aquaculture — the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants — has been practised in some form for centuries, tracing back to the Phoenicians, and India offers huge potential for its development; fish culture specifically drew notable attention in Tamil Nadu as early as 1911. Based on the water source used, Indian aquaculture splits into three categories. Freshwater aquaculture uses inland water bodies — rivers, canals, streams, lakes, flood-plain wetlands, reservoirs, ponds, tanks and other constructed or derelict water bodies — where the water should be roughly neutral in pH and below 5 ppt (parts per thousand) in salinity. Brackish water aquaculture uses water in the 0.5–30 ppt salinity range, typical of estuaries, backwaters, mangrove swamps and coastal lagoons (more common along Bengal and Kerala), culturing species such as Milk fish, Sea bass, Grey mullet and Pearl spot. Marine water aquaculture (mariculture) uses water in the 30–35 ppt salinity range along India's roughly 5,600 km coastline (about 80% of India's marine fish catch comes from the west coast, the remaining 20% from the east), culturing species like Chanos sp. and Mugil cephalus, with premier wild varieties including mackerels, sardines, sharks and catfish; a f …