Nursery rearing of Asian Seabass, Lates calcarifer in hapa as livelihood activity for coastal communities of Gujarat

Abstract

India is bestowed with number of locally important cultivable brackishwater finfishes for aquaculture such as Asian seabass, milkfish, grey mullet, pearlspot, scat and estuarine grouper. Diversification assumes significance for the sustainability of Indian coastal aquaculture as currently the aquaculture scenario is largely synonymous with shrimp farming. The brackishwater finfish aquaculture production from India chiefly originates from small stakeholders owning relatively small farming areas. In India, the coastal states have huge scope for brackishwater aquaculture since every state is bestowed with vast resources of brackishwater areas including the mangrove based creeks, canals and backwaters. Presently, the percentage area utilized for brackishwater aquaculture is very low and the figures emphasizes the underutilized potential of brackishwater aquaculture to bring about a significant difference in fish production and livelihood generation in different coastal states of India.