Since the late 1960s, brackishwater rural aquaculture in West Bengal grew and improved at a fast rate, from an extensive method of farming to a modified-extensive method. The indigenous bheri fishery is a well-known aquaculture system throughout all coastal states of India. In West Bengal, 95% of the fishery is confined to North and South 24 Parganas, two out of three coastal districts of the state.

The bheri fishery isn’t a capital-intensive practice. Extended tracts of wetlands and fisheries systems with low earthen embankments occur beyond the eastern edge of Kolkata city on both sides of Kolkata-Basanti State Highway.

This article describes farming practices in bheri systems in West Bengal, India, including their integration with mangrove aquaculture. A second part of this article will be published in the next issue.