Importance of Water Quality in Mariculture

Marine cage aquaculture industry is gaining greater demand worldwide, due to its contribution as an alternate livelihood and also because of its protein and export value, for coastal communities. Water quality is the most important determinant for maintaining sustainable marine cage farming. The most important physico-chemical and biological parameters to be considered in cage aquaculture include water temperature, turbidity, salinity,pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, phosphates and algal blooms. It is also understood that theeffects of marine finfish cage aquaculture on water quality are of great concern to the development of an ecologically viable mariculture industry. In India, cage farming of marine finfish is successful with a record production of Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer and cobia, Rachycentron canadum in 6 m and 10 m dia. steel cages respectively. To achieve a sustainable culture of these species, management of good water quality in the cage farm is of prime importance. This chapter summarizes the most predominant water quality parameters which are to be considered for management of marine cage farming

Environment management and probiotics in mariculture

Marine cage aquaculture industry is gaining greater demand worldwide, due to its contribution as an alternate livelihood and also because of its protein and export value, for coastal communities. Mariculture is expanding significantly all over the world and is contributing 25.5 % to the global aquaculture production in the last two decades (FAO 2017). In India, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute made significant contribution in standardization of breeding and cage culture technologies of marine finfishes viz., Cobia, Rachycentron canadum, Pompano, Tachinotus blochii, Grouper, Epinephleus coioides, Indian Pompano, Trachinotus mookalee, rabbit fish, Siganus vermiculatus, seabreams, Acanthopagrus berda, Sparidentex jamalensis and achieved a successful production of these species in different maritime states of India. High density intensive culture of fish in indoor tanks, with a controlled system will be highly beneficial compared to the traditional method of growing fish in open marine waters (cages/ raceways/ pens etc.), where control of environmental conditions is not possible. In order to sustain the growth and production of marine finfishes in India as well as in global level, it always suggestible to maintain a health protocol of fish and environment in any kind of culture systems. Hence, there is a need to understand the fish and environmental health status and their management for sustainable cage culture production

Transportation of fingerlings and juveniles of marine finfish

There are two basic transport systems for live fish - the closed system and the open system. The closed system is a sealed container in which all the requirements for survival are selfcontained. The simplest of these is a sealed plastic bag partly filled with water and oxygen. The open system consists of waterfilled containers in which the requirements for survival are supplied continuously from outside sources. The simplest of these is a small tank with an aerator stone

Characterization of Vibrio spp. associated with Diseased Shrimp from Culture Ponds of Andhra Pradesh(India)

Surveys undertaken on diseases caused by Vibrio spp. in Penaeus monodon from culture ponds of coastal Andhra Pradesh recorded the occurrence of five types of diseases : tailnecrosis,shelldisease,reddisease,looseshellsyndrome(LSS), and white gut disease(WGD). Amongthese,LSS,WGD,and red disease caused mass mortalities in shrimp cultureponds. Six species of Vibrio V.harveyi,V.parahaemolyticus,V.alginolyticus,V.anguillarum,V.vulnificus,and V.splendidus are associated with the diseased shrimp. The number of Vibrio spp. associated with each disease ranged from two to five. Additionally,shrimp with red disease had concurrent infections with white spot syndrome virus.Vibrio harveyi in the case of LSS and WGD, V. parahaemolyticus for reddisease, and V.algino-lyticus for shell disease are the major etiologcalagents. Differences occur in the degree of virulence of different species of Vibrio and also different isolates of the same species. Vibrioharveyi isolated from LSS shrimp is the most virulent.Ingeneral, allthe Vibrio isolates from LSS shrimp tend to be more virulent as compared to their counter parts fromo the diseased shrimp.It is apparent that the degree of virulence of various Vibrio isolates depends on its source and the pond environmental conditions. Most of the Vibrio isolates showed susceptibility to oxy-tetracycline, norfloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. The luminous V.harveyi exhibited resistance to many antibiotics and susceptibility to only three drugs. Considering the emergence of antimicrobial resistant strains of Vibrio, the need for using probiotics in place of antibiotics for disease control is stressed

Biochemical Constituents of Shrimps from Semi-Intensive and Modified-Extensive Culture Ponds

A quantitative study on the occurrence of major biochemical constituents including protein, carbohydrate, lipid and cholesterol in the muscle of different growth stages of Penaeus monodon collected from semi-intensive (SI) and modified-extensive (ME) culture ponds of coastal Andhra Pradesh, adopting different feeding schedules was undertaken. The objective was to determine the effects of the age of shrimp and the stocking density on the biochemical composition of the muscle. Protein was found to be the major biochemical constituent and an increase in protein content with advancement of shrimp age was recorded. Glycogen occurred only in traces. Lipid and cholesterol occurred in moderate quantities with concentrations slightly higher in shrimps of SI ponds as compared to those of ME ponds. Overall, the stocking density had little impact on protein and glycogen concentration in the muscle

Characteristics, Pathogenicity and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Bacterial Isolates from White Spot Diseased Shrimp

A bacteriological study was undertaken on white spot diseased shrimp collected from extensive, modified-extensive and semi-intensive ponds located at Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts of North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. The diseased shrimp exhibited white spots and red discoloration of the body. Four species of bacteria, V. alginolyticus, V. parahaemolyticus, V. anguillarum and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from the hemolymph of the diseased shrimp. V. alginolyticus was found to be the most dominant and virulent species. All the bacterial isolates showed sensitivity towards oxytetracycline which is a commonly used antibiotic in culture ponds

Survival, Growth and Production of Penaeus monodon in Modified- Extensive and Semi Intensive Culture Systems of Andhra Pradesh, India

An analysis was made on the stocking density, survival, growth and production of Penaeus monodon in semi intensive (SI) and modified extensive (ME) shrimp culture ponds located in East Godavari district of Coastal Andhra Pradesh, India. Survival of shrimp in the ME systems with low stocking densities is higher (56 - 88%) than in the SI systems (12.3 – 52%) with higher stocking densities. Growth of shrimp is dependent not only on the stocking density but also on the management practices. Although the percent survival is more in ME system the growth is much faster in SI system owing to better management practices. Weight gain of shrimp was more rapid in the SI system than in the ME system initially up to 90 days of culture (DOC) but the trend was reverse in the later age of culture period. The optimum stocking density for achieving maximum production in the area is suggested as 10-15 individuals / m2 in SI ponds and 3-5 individuals / m2 in ME ponds

Site and species selection criteria for cage culture

Site selection is the most important factor which determines the commercial viability of mariculture systems. Cage culture can be made possible only when the site for cage culture operation is located, designed and operated to provide optimum water quality and to avoid stress conditions. In addition to water and sediment quality of the site some biological and natural distribution information for the species should also be known before a site is selected for cage culture. The selection of fish for cage culture should be based on biological criteria, such as physiological, behavioural characteristics and level of domestication; marketing criteria and environmental criteria, distribution and habitat of sit

Probiotic activity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PIC-4) isolated from Visakhapatnam coast, Bay of Bengal, India, against Vibrio harveyi in Penaeus monodon

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PIC 4), isolated from coastal waters of Visakhapatnam (Gen Bank Accession no: KF803248) was tested for its antagonistic activity against Vibrio harveyi as probiotic in cultured Penaeus monodon. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PIC 4 has proved to be non-pathogenic to the shrimp by pathogenicity tests. Vibrio counts in probiotic fed shrimp and the surrounding water medium were significantly lower when compared to the control group of shrimp and water during 50 days of culture. Mean weight of probiont fed shrimps after 50 days of culture was (2.21 + 0.15 g) , significantly higher than that of normal diet fed ones (1.33+0.18 g). Survival percent was also significantly higher in probiont fed shrimp (47.33% + 5.55%) than that of the control diet fed shrimp (26.33% + 7%). Percent survival in probiotic fed and normal diet fed shrimp after the challenge with V. harveyi was 93.04 and 38.87 respectively

Open sea cage culture for marine finfish and shellfishes

Open sea cage culture for marine finfish and shellfishe