Macrobenthos off Mahim (Bombay), west coast of India in relation to coastal pollution and aquaculture

Deterioration of water quality clearly indicated a moderate to severe coastal pollution around Mahim whereas a relatively healthy marine environment towards offshore was noticed. Foraminifera, polychaetes, crustaceans and pelecypods were the dominant macro faunal groups encountered in the area. The occasional inhabitants like pennatularians, nemertines, sipunculids, ophiuroids and fish larvae were mostly restricted to offshore regions. Biomass and population density of macro fauna were moderate and showed fluctuating trend. Similarity coefficients of foraminifera (0.89) and polychaetes (0.81) were high for offshore unpolluted stations (3 and 4) as compared to near shore coastal stations (1 and 2). Faunal diversity was relatively more in unpolluted zone. The diversity index (H) was more at station 3 for polychaetes (1.39) and at station 4 for foraminifers (0.54). In general, biomass was high during post monsoon excepting station 1 which was invariably under severe pollution stress throughout the study period. Foraminifera were abundant at sandy bottom while polychaetes preferred muddy (clayey silt) bottom. A noticeable ecological modification associated with faunal abundance and diversity were related to deteriorating marine water quality due to anthropogenic waste disposals. The prevailing water quality around Mahim is unsuitable for any kind of culture practices and also for harvesting economically important marine species.

Factor intensity and economic returns of alternate shrimp crop and shrimp-salt farming in the coastal areas of Bangladesh

The paper examines the factor intensity and economic returns of alternate shrimp-crop and shrimp-salt farming in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Data were collected from 30 shrimp-crop and 30 shrimp-salt farmers, 30 shrimp farmers and 30 rice farmers from three selected coastal districts of Bangladesh. Cobb-Douglas production function model was used to determine the effect of various factors on alternate shrimp-crop farming. The chosen variables were stocking of juveniles, paddy seed, labour, fertilizers, feed and farm size of respective type of farming. The results indicated that the production function exhibited increasing remrns to scale for alternate shrimp-rice, alternate shrimp-salt and year round shrimp farming while it indicated decreasing returns for year round rice farming. Economic analysis of same system of farming indicated that higher amount of input use produced higher level of yield, gross return and net return for each type of production system.

Smoking of shrimp and fish from coastal village of north-west Bangladesh

Traditional smoking of mixed shrimp species is a method of preservation in coastal region of Bangladesh. Besides traditional smoked shrimp, attempt had been made to produce smoked shrimp from brown shrimp, Metapenaeus monoceros and fish from mugil, Liza parsia and the quality of smoked product was found good very on the basis of physical properties, proximate composition and mineral contents of the products.

Environmental impact of wild shrimp seed collection with non-selective gears on coastal aquatic biodiversity

Collection of wild tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) seed with non-selective gears and its impact upon the coastal aquatic biodiversity has been investigated. Loss of undesired species as by-catch was estimated to be 1,075 individuals for collection of every desired shrimp seed which amounted to be 132 billion in a study area stretching 3 km long coastline of the Sagar Island under the Sunderban Biosphere, West Bengal, India. Non-penaeid shrimp seed and crab larvae accounted to be maximally destroyed as their overall contribution towards the by-catch were 56.5% and 29.44%, respectively. Though, rate of bycatch loss was found to be inversely correlated with the rate of shrimp seed collected per gear (r=-0.82, p<0.05) during the peak season (May-September), the overall relationship between them exhibited a linear relationship (r=0.73, p<0.05). By-catch loss for every shrimp seed collection tended to increase up to a daily collection of 2,500 numbers of shrimp seeds per gear followed by a decline. Coastal aquatic community was maximally damaged when the heterogeneity and stability as reflected by different diversity indices were higher.

Fisheries profile mapping of coastal districts in Maharashtra state through GIS

In recent times, GIS is being increasingly used as a decision support system for management of fisheries and aquaculture. It provides new innovative approaches of the dynamic relations that characterize this sector. In this context, a study is conducted based on the secondary data of a major maritime state, Maharashtra, where mapping of fisheries profile of coastal districts in the state is performed through GIS tool having critical geographic dimensions. This paper aims to map information of the state which can be used for the purpose of planning and decision making as each aspect of map has a different component involved. For this purpose, at the core of the system, the data were accessed and integrated from different sources mainly from the five coastal districts of Maharashtra state. Data were brought in tabular form through Microsoft Excel and then joined to Map info Professional version 8.0 GIS software was used with the digitized map of Maharashtra state to enable mapping. This was further synchronized and integrated to generate four thematic maps searchable on several criteria. Map 1 contains the searchable criteria as regards to the fish growth for the year 1997-2004 and fish seed production for the year 2003-04. Map 2 contains fisher population along with their occupation for the year 1992. Map 3 contains brackish water and shrimp farming production and culture area. Map 4 contains infrastructural facilities which include type of boats etc. With this mapping, planners and various stakeholders have accessible information as regards to the various components of fisheries in the state of Maharashtra.

Ecological impacts of coastal aquaculture developments

The study presents the type and scale of any ecological change associated with coastal aquaculture development. These are enrichment, interaction with the food web, oxygen consumption, disturbance of wildlife and habitat destruction, interaction between escaped farmed stock and wild species, introduction and transfers, bioactive compounds (including pesticides and antibiotics), chemicals introduced via construction materials, and hormones and growth promoters.

Adopt sustainable development principle in aquaculture

The inadequate planning and inefficient management of coastal aquaculture has resulted into serious socioeconomic consequences. These are the displacement of rural communities which traditionally depended on mangroves due to large-scale mangrove conversion for shrimp and fish farming, land subsidence caused by excessive pumping of groundwater for use in aquaculture, financial losses due to disease outbreaks, and public health consequences due to red tide. In order to maximize the socioeconomic benefits of coastal aquaculture the adoption of the principles of sustainable development is recommended. Sustainable development is the management and conservation of natural resource base and the orientation of technological and institutional change in such a manner to ensure the attainment and continued satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations.

Guidelines for the development of environmentally acceptable coastal aquaculture

The paper presents some recommendations for the development of the environmentally acceptable coastal aquaculture such as: 1) Formulate coastal aquaculture development and management plans, 2) Formulate integrated coastal zone management plans, 3) Apply the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process to all major aquaculture proposals, 4) Select suitable sites for coastal aquaculture, 5) Improve the management of aquaculture operations, 6) Assess the capacity of the ecosystem to sustain aquaculture development with minimal ecological change, 7) Establish guidelines governing the use of mangrove wetland for coastal aquaculture, 8) Establish guidelines for the use of bioactive compounds in aquaculture, 9) Assess and evaluate the true consequences of transfers and introductions of exotic organisms, 10) Regulate discharges from land-based aquaculture through the enforcement of effluent standards, 11) Establish control measures for aquaculture products, 12) Increase public awareness of the safety aspects of consuming seafood, 13) Apply incentives and deterrents to reduce environmental degradation from aquaculture activities, and 14) Monitor for ecological change.

Guidelines for environmentally acceptable coastal aquaculture

The article discusses the guidelines for environmentally acceptable aquaculture to ensure that financial gain is not at the expense of the ecosystem or the rest of society. The general principles, strategies and objectives, and action plans for the implementation of environment-friendly aquaculture is also discussed.

Seawater irrigation systems for intensive marine shrimp farming in Thailand

The aim of the seawater irrigation system (SIS) is to clean up shrimp pond effluent and provide high quality seawater for shrimp farming. The system has 3 components: water intake; treatment reservoir and discharge system. There are criteria for site selection because shrimp farmers are required to form associations so they can work closely together. The construction site must be on the coastal area outside a mangrove forest and located away from a production agricultural area. All construction sites must have undergone an environmental impact assessment, and should be located on the area listed in Thailand's Coastal Zone Management Plan. Five SIS projects, which cover a culture area of 6,500 ha with 1,300 farmers (families), were completed and operated. The Department of Fisheries has planned for another 28 projects, that will cover almost 44,000 ha of culture area.

Aquaculture Asia, Vol.13, No.1, pp.1-56, January-March 2008

Developing guidelines for sustainable freshwater aquaculture planning in Vietnam. Aquaculture production, certification and trade: Challenges and opportunities for the small-scale farmer in Asia. The successful development of backyard hatcheries for crustaceans in Thailand. Alternate carp species for diversification in freshwater aquaculture in India. Genetic and reproduction technologies for enhanced aquaculture and fisheries management of Murray cod. Effluent and disease management in traditional practices of shrimp farming: A case study on the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Status of sahar domestication and its development in the Himalayan Region of Nepal. Vaccination benefits highlighted as Schering-Plough reinforces commitment to Asian aquaculture. Comparative advantage analysis of shrimp production in Asia. Strategies to improve livelihood of the rural poor: A case study in two small reservoirs in Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam. Cambodian Government ban on snakehead farming enforced. Marine finfish aquaculture developments at ‘Indonesian Aquaculture 2007’. Production update – marine finfish aquaculture in the Asia-Pacific region. Body size of rotifers from estuaries in North Sulawesi. NACA Newsletter.

Aquaculture Asia, Vol.13, No.2, pp.1-56, April-June 2008

Peter Edwards writes on rural aquaculture: From integrated carp polyculture to intensive monoculture in the Pearl River Delta, South China. Better management practices for Vietnamese catfish. Ipomoea aquatica – an aquaculture friendly macrophyte. A status overview of fisheries and aquaculture development in Pakistan with context to other Asian countries. The changing face of post-grad education in aquaculture: contributing to soaring production and sustainable practices. Hatchery management in Bangladesh. Production of Cirrhinus molitorella and Labeo chrysophekadion for culture based fisheries development in Lao PDR Part I: Captive spawning. Application of ipil-ipil leaf meal as feed Ingredient for monosex tilapia fry (Oreochromis niloticus) in terms of growth and economics. Fermented feed ingredients as fish meal replacer in aquafeed production Aquaculture and fishing management in coastal zone demarcation: the case of Thailand. Reservoir fisheries of freshwater prawn – success story of an emerging culture-based giant freshwater prawn fishery at Malampuzha Dam in Kerala, India. Determining and locating sea cage production area for sustainable tropical aquaculture. SPC Pacific-Asia marine fish mariculture technical workshop: “Farming Marine Fishes for our Future”. Developing Better Management Practices for Marine Finfish Aquaculture. Breeding and seed production of silver pompano (Trachinotus blochii, Lacepede) at the Mariculture Development Center of Batam. Potential of silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) as a new candidate species for aquaculture. NACA Newsletter.