Abstract
Pen aquaculture technology, a low-cost aquaculture system for floodplain wetlands of India, was evaluated through a pilot study as an alternative livelihood for increasing adaptive capacity under changing climatic scenario. Five pens (100 m2 area each) were constructed in a floodplain wetland and provisions were made to adjust heights during the monsoon to prevent escapement of fish due to flooding to make it climate-smart adaptation system. Feasibility of culturing high-value locally preferred small indigenous fishes (SIFs), viz. Amblypharyngodon mola, Gudusia chapra and Puntius sophore, along with Indian major carps (IMC) was assessed. Five different species combinations were tested, i.e. P1 (IMC only), P2 (IMC + A. mola @ 30 no./m2), P3 (IMC + G. chapra @ 20 no./m2), P4 (IMC + P. sophore @ 20 no./m2) and P5 (IMC + all three SIFs @ 1/3 of stocking density of each species). The IMC (Labeo catla, L. rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala) were stocked @ 3 no./m2 in all the pens. After 5 months, highest net fish production was obtained from P2 (124.86 kg/pen) followed by P3 (120.19 kg/pen), P5 (105.15 kg/pen), P1 (89.91 kg/pen) and P4 (87.38 kg/pen). The range of water quality parameters recorded during the experimental period was in favourable concentration for fish culture. Economic feasibility analysis of the pen culture operation indicated that culturing IMC with G. chapra or A. mola was more profitable compared to other combinations. The study also showed successful natural recruitment of all the three SIFs in pens indicating that they could breed and continue to support their fishery unlike large carps. With successful culture of fish during flood season, encouraging growth of carps and recruitment of SIFs in pens, it emerged as a potentially effective climate-resilient system which could enhance income and livelihood of the fishers besides providing nutritional security in developing countries.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AFDC (2020) Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd., Technology applied at beels. www.afdc.assam.gov.in/portlets. Accessed 27 April, 2020
APHA, AWWA, WEF (1998) Standard Methods for the examination of water and wastewater. In: Clesceri LS, Greenberg AE and Eaton, AD (eds) 20th Edn. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, Washington, DC
Bhattacharjya BK (2003) Enhancement tool for augmenting fish production from floodplain wetlands. In: Vinci GK, Jha BC, Bhaumik U, Mitra K (eds) Fisheries management of floodplain wetlands in India, CIFRI Bull. No. 125. Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, India, pp 34-42
Bhattacharjya BK (2011) Management guidelines for floodplain wetlands of North-east India. In: Gogoi AK, Bhattacharjya BK, Singh AK, Debnath D, Yengkokpam S (eds) Training manual on Recent advances in management of fisheries and aquaculture in North-east region of India, Zonal Project Directorate, Zone-III, ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Barapani, Meghalaya, India, pp 1-11
Bhattacharjya BK, Yengkokpam S, Gogoi P, Sarma KK, Debnath D (2015) Rearing of carried over carp seed in pen enclosure in a closed floodplain wetland of Assam. J Inland Fish Soc India 47:43–48
Bora DK (2020) Flood hazards and management issues in Bhuragaon circle, Morigaon district of Assam, India. J Shanghai Jiaotong Uni 16:673–686
Boyd CE (1982) Water quality management for pond fish culture. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 318
Boyd CE (1998) Water Quality for Pond Aquaculture. Research and Development Series No. 43. International Centre for Aquaculture and Aquatic Environments, Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University, Alabama
Boyd CE and Tucker CS (2014) Handbook for Aquaculture Water Quality, Craftmaster Printers, Inc., Auburn, p 439
CIFRI (2000) Ecology and Fisheries of Beels in West Bengal. CIFRI Bulletin No. 103. https://www.cifri.res.in. Accessed on 21 January 2021
Das A, Bhattacharjya BK, Goswami SN, Sawant PB, Debnath D, Yengkokpam S, Das A, Kakati A, Sarma KK, Chadha NK, Verma AK, Sharma AP (2017) Assessment of economic feasibility of pen aquaculture technology in floodplain wetlands (beels) of Assam, India. Indian J Fish 64:1–7
Das S, Nandi S, Majumder S, Saikia SK (2013) New characterization of feeding habits of Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) through morphometry. J FisheriesSciences.com 7:225–231
Debnath D, Yengkokpam S (2020) Aquaculture diversification with nutrient-rich SIFs in Northeast India: Strengths and opportunities. In: Phukan B, Baishya S, Bhuyan PC, Tamuli KK, Bhagawati K, Das M (eds) Conservation of Aquatic Biodiversity, 1st edn. College of Fisheries AAU, Raha, Nagaon, India, p 58
Debu C (2016) Why India can’t afford to ignore Assam flood situation? https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/government. Accessed 21 May 2020.
DoF-GoI (2019) Handbook on Fisheries Statistics 2018. Fisheries Statistics Division, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt. of India, New Delhi
Ferrati R, Canziani GA, Moreno DR (2005) Estero del Ibera: hydrometerological and hydrological characterization. Ecol Mode 186:3–15
Guhathakurta P, Bandgar A, Menon P, Prasad AK, Sangwan N, Advani SC (2020) Observed rainfall variability and changes over Assam state. IMD, Pune, India
ICAR-CIFRI, (2018) Demonstration of climate resilient pen systems (CRPS) in selected wetlands of India. In: Mohanty BP, Manna SK, Behera BK, Pandit A, Karnatak G, DebRoy P, Swain HS, Lal R, Prasad S (eds) Annual Report 2017–18. ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, pp 139–140
IPCC (2014) Technical Summary. In: Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken D.J, Mach KJ, Mastrandrea MD, Bilir TE, Chatterjee MK, Ebi L, Estrada YO, Genova RC, Girma B, Kissel ES, Levy AN, MacCracken S, Mastrandrea PR and White L (eds) Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, NY, USA, pp 35-94
Jhingran AG (1992) Performance of tilapia in Indian waters and its possible impact on the native ichthyofauna. In: Baluyut EA (ed) FAO Fisheries Report No. 458 Supplement, Rome, FAO, pp 143-161
Milstein A, Wahab MA, Rahman MM (2002) Environmental effects of common carp Cyprinus carpio (L.) and mrigal Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton) as bottom feeders in major Indian carp polycultures. Aqua Res 33:1103–1117
Mohanty BP, Pati MK, Bhattacharjee S, Hajra A and Sharma AP (2013) Small indigenous fishes and their importance in human health. In: Goswami UC (ed) Advances in Fish Research, Vol. V, Narendra Publishing House, Delhi, India, pp 257-278
Moyle JB (1946) Some indices of lake productivity. Tran Am Fish Soc 76:322–334
Natarajan AV, Jhingran AG (1961) Index of preponderance - a method of grading the food elements in the stomach analysis of fishes. Indian J Fish 8:54–59
Patel JG, Murthy TVR, Singh TS and Panigrahy S (2009) Analysis of the distribution pattern of wetlands in India in relation to climate change. In: Panigrahy S, Shankar RS and Parihar JS (eds) Proceedings of the workshop on impact of climate change on agriculture, 17-18 December. International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Ahmedabad, India
Paul TT, Kuberan Panikker P, Sudheesan D, Sarkar UK, Das BK (2019) Demonstration of a Climate-resilient multitrophic pen system in Vembanad lake, Kerala. World Aqua 50:56–58
Ramsar Convention Secretariat (2013) The Ramsar Convention Manual: A Guide to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971), 6th edn. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland
Ravindranath NH, Rao S, Sharma N, Nair M, Gopalakrishnan R, Rao AS, Malaviya S, Tiwari R, Sagadevan A, Munsi M, Krishna N, Bala G (2011) Climate change vulnerability profiles for North East India. Cur Sci 101:384–394
Sarkar UK, Borah B (2017) Floodplain wetland fisheries of India: with special reference to impact of climate change. Wetl Ecol Manage 26:1–15
Sarkar UK, Lakra WS (2010) Small indigenous freshwater fish species of India: Significance, conservation and utilization. Aqua Asia Mag 15:34–35
Sarkar UK, Mishal P, Karnatak G, Sarkar SD, Das AK, Das BK (2019) Climate resilient pen system in floodplain wetlands: An adaptive strategy for fisheries enhancement and biodiversity conservation. Indian Farming 69:41–44
Sarkar UK, Roy K, Karnatak G, Nandy SK (2018) Adaptive climate change resilient indigenous fisheries strategies in the floodplain wetlands of West Bengal, India. J Water Clim Change 9:449–462
Sarkar UK, Mishal P, Borah S, Karnatak G, Chandra G, Kumari S, Meena DM, Debnath D, Yengkokpam S, Das P, DebRoy P, Yadav AK, Aftabuddin M, Gogoi P, Pandit A, Bhattacharjya BK, Tayung T, Lianthuamluaia L, Das BK (2021a) Status, potential, prospects and issues of floodplain wetland fisheries in India: Synthesis and review for sustainable management. Rev Fish Sci Aqua 29:1–32
Sarkar UK, Roy K, Naskar M, Karnatak G, Puthiyottil M, Baksi S, Kumari S, Lianthuamluia L and Das BK (2021b) Assessing vulnerability of freshwater minnows in the Gangetic floodplains of India for conservation and management: Anthropogenic or climatic change risk? Clim Risk Managehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2021.100325
Sarkar UK, Roy K, Karnatak G, Naskar M, Puthiyottil M, Baksi S, Lianthuamluia L, Kumari S, Ghosh BD and Das BK (2021c) Reproductive environment of the decreasing Indian river shad in Asian inland waters: disentangling the climate change and indiscriminative fishing threats. Environ SciPollut Reshttps://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12852-7
Sarkar UK, Roy K, Naskar M, Srivastava PK, Bose AK, Verma VK, Gupta S, Nandy SK, Sarkar SD, Karnatak G, Sudheesan D, Das BK (2019) Minnows may be more reproductively resilient to climatic variability than anticipated: Synthesis from a reproductive vulnerability assessment of Gangetic pool barbs (Puntius sophore). Ecol Indic 105:727–736
Shafi M, Quddus MMA (1982) Bangladesher matshaw sampod (in Bengali). Bangla Academy, Dhaka, pp 121–122
Sharma AP, Joshi KD, Naskar M and Das MK (2015) Inland Fisheries and Climate Change: Vulnerability and Adaptation Options. ICAR-CIFRI Special Publication, Policy paper No. NICRA/Policy/2015-16/1, Barrackpore, Kolkata, India, p 29
Sharma N (2013) Brahmaputra flooding and possible technical solutions. In: Chetia BB, Bhattacharyya HC (eds) Strategy for developing fisheries in flood affected areas of Assam. Assam Agricultural University, Assam
Sharma SSV, Roy PS, Chakravarthi V, Srinivasarao G, Bhanumurthy V (2017) Extraction of detailed level flood hazard zones using multi-temporal historical satellite data sets – a case study of Kopili river basin, Assam, India. Geomat Nat Haz Risk 8:792–802
Singh VP, Sharma N, Ojha C (2004) The Brahmaputra basin water resources. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Bordrecht
Stone NM, Thomforde HK (2004) Understanding Your Fish Pond Water Analysis Report. Cooperative Extension Program, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff
Sugunan VV and Bhattacharjya BK (2000) Ecology and fisheries in beels of Assam. Bull No. 104. Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, India, p 48
Thorp JH, Thoms MC, Delong MD (2006) The riverine ecosystem synthesis: biocomplexity in river networks across space and time. River Res Appl 22:123–147
Tonn WM (1990) Climate change and fish communities: a conceptual framework. Tran Am Fish Soc 119:337–352
Wahab MA, Alim MA, Milstein A (2003) Effects of adding the small fish punti (Puntius sophore Hamilton) and/or mola (Amblypharyngodon mola Hamilton) to a polyculture of large carp. Aqua Res 34:149–163
Wahab MA, Rahman MM, Milstein A (2002) The effect of common carp Cyprinus carpio (L.) and mrigal Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton) as bottom feeders in major Indian carp polycultures. Aqua Res 33:547–557
Yengkokpam S, Bhattacharjya BK, Debnath D, Das P, Yadav AK, Sarma KK, Sharma N, Borah S, Kakati A, Singh NS (2017) Effect of stocking practices and riverine connectivity on fish productivity of beels of Assam. CIFRI News 22(1):8
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Assam Fisheries Development Corporation (AFDC) Limited, Guwahati, and people residing near 47-Morakolong beel, who directly or indirectly helped in conducting the pen culture experiment. Authors gratefully acknowledge the help of anonymous reviewers for improving this article.
Funding
This research was conducted under NICRA project on “Impact of climate change in inland fisheries and development of adaptation strategies” funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, India.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yengkokpam, S., Debnath, D., Bhattacharjya, B.K. et al. Exploring polyculture of small indigenous fishes with major carps in pens as a climate-resilient adaptation strategy for northeastern wetlands of India. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Change 27, 3 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09981-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-021-09981-2