Aquaculture Principles and Practices

PREFACE
India, with diversified agro-climatic regions is endowed with potentially rich and varied aquatic resources offering ample scope and opportunities in aquaculture development. It has been estimated that 40 percent of the available cultivable areas in the inland sector has been brought under aquaculture practices. In the brackishwater sector out of the potential area of 1.4 million hectares, only 14 percent is utilized for farming activities. Extending farming operations to larger areas and by increasing overall productivity, total production from aquaculture can be doubled. Aquaculture has achieved consistent growth in the coun- try during last two decades as evidenced by high production from carps which has contributed as much as 87 percent of the total aquaculture production. India is seen to occupy the second position contrib- uting to 6.04 percent in the global aquaculture production of 51.65 million tonnes in 2006 (FAO2007). But intensification of aquaculture practices especially in coastal shrimp farming has led to innumerable problems including disease outbreaks and adverse environmental impacts through nutrient loading which affected sustainability. Hence, the important challenge for Indian aquaculture in the 21st century is to ensure sustainability and profitability which has to be achieved by adopting technically appropri- ate, environmentally nondegrading and sustainable farming practices which are socially acceptable. The concept of 'ecological footprint' which is a recent approach in aquaculture sustainability indicates that high technology, high input aquaculture has a considerably larger ecological footprint than exten- sive artisanal aquaculture. Many landmark decisions have been taken for the enforcement of sustain- able and responsible aquaculture which is likely to bring in radical changes in the aquaculture sector. For overall development of sustainable aquaculture, emphasis has to be made on the implementation of good management practices (GMP's) encoded in the FAO Code of Conduct for responsible aquaculture. The quality, technical skills and management of fisheries manpower have to be improved in consonance with the rapidly changing needs of the society so that the concept of good management practices reach the farming community.