Milkfish, Chanos chanos A candidate species for open water stock enhancement with potentiality in augmenting fish production

Abstract

Chanos chanos commonly known as Milkfish, a euryhaline benthopelagic, amphidromous, tropical species under the order Gonorynchiformes is a monotypic species from the family Chanidae, inhabiting marine as well as brackish waters. Milkfish is mostly found in offshore marine waters and shallow coastal embayment; reported to very often enter into estuaries and freshwater streams. In reef-associated coasts or islands, they occur as small to large schools. Milkfish is considered the national fish of the Philippines and locally known as ‘Bangus’. It is considered delicious, can grow fast, and tolerate wide ranges of salinity. Culture of milkfish in brackishwater ponds and pens is an age-old practice and mainly followed in the countries like Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, and pacific island countries. During the year 2014, global milkfish production was 10 lakh MT, and the main contributors were Philippines, Taiwan, and Indonesia. In Indian open waters, Milkfish is available in almost all the brackishwater lagoons and estuaries along both the east and west coasts of India. Culture of milkfish is done mainly in brackish water, coastal, and estuarine water bodies in a traditional way. Culture of milkfish mainly depends on natural seed resources, and is not done in an organized manner due to the non-availability of quality seeds. Recently ICAR-CIBA successfully bred and standardized breeding techniques of milkfish. In India, as per the report of MPEDA (1997) at least 20 million, wild-caught seeds of the species are collected every year from the natural water bodies for farming purposes which is considered one of the reasons for the depletion of natural population stocks. Present status of Milkfish fishery in India is discussed in this communication along with the management strategies for its improvement.