Transportation of live Finfishes and Shellfishes

Abstract

Livefish trade, especially the live ornamental fish and live seafood trade, is emerging as a major business venture in most of the tropical countries. Production of livefish through aquaculture has also undergone vast changes during the past 20 years. In aquaculture, transport of broodstock from the wild to the hatchery or seed from the hatchery to the growouts forms one of the basic requirements. The demandfor livefiriflsh and shellfish is rapidly increasir^g and in most of the developed countries, more and more livefish traders and restaurants are offering live fishery products to their customers. Air liftiry of live se<^ood has also increased during the last few years. The mcgor constraint to the development of live seafood export is the lack of information on handling the aquatic organisms after they are caught, right through the transport and sale to the customers. Necessary precautions have to be taken while catching, packing and transporting the aquatic organisms. Apart from careful handling, a thorough knowledge of the behaviour and physiology of the animal is necessary to minimise the stress during storage and transportation.