The development and expansion of marine
finfish aquaculture in India can lead to
enhanced seafood production, both for domestic
consumption as well as for export. However, the
expansion and commercialisation of this activity is
restricted, mainly due to the limited or non-availability
of seeds of high-value finfishes. Silver pompano,
Indian pompano, cobia, seabass, selected grouper
varieties, sea breams and snappers are some of the key
species that can be targeted as candidate species for
commercial level seed production in the country. The
prime requirement to achieve this goal is to ensure
year-round commercial level availability of hatcheryproduced seeds of such species, for which, controlled
reproductive maturation under bio-secure conditions
is essential. Unlike some species of shrimps, it is not
easy to source the required brooders directly by wild
collection. It is time-consuming to collect pre-adult
fishes from the wild and condition them into brooders
(broodstock development). Hence, a viable option is
to establish a broodstock holding facility (Broodbank)
where broodfishes can be developed and maintained
under bio-secure conditions. Broodbanks facilitated
with recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) can to a
large extent, avoid unexpected mortalities of brooders.
Induced or volitional breeding techniques can be
applied here, and fertilised eggs and newly hatched
larvae can be supplied on demand to commercial
hatcheries for rearing
