In this issue:
Silver biddy (Gerres oyena), known locally as badah, supports commercial fisheries across the Indo-West Pacific, but wild stocks in the Arabian Gulf are declining. Staff at the Aquaculture and Marine Studies Center on Abu Al Abyad Island, Abu Dhabi, have now spawned and reared the species in captivity. The team conditioned wild-caught brood stock on a supplemented diet, then induced spawning with hormone injections in April 2025. Over six weeks, the fish produced 2.9 million fertilised eggs, with a hatching rate of 76.9%. Larvae were raised on green water, rotifers, Artemia and artificial feed, producing 423,000 fry at a survival rate of about 19%. In the nursery, juveniles reached 1.8 g after 100 days with 80% survival.
This article describes each step, from brood stock care to nursery management, and outlines the further research needed to support hatchery production and stock enhancement of this species in the region.
]]>The floodplains of the Brahmaputra valley in northeast India hold an abundance of waters, but lowland fish productivity there has received far less study than in western and central India. An assessment at the Gerua Centre of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Assam, has identified ten aquaculture-based development options for the campus and the surrounding lowlands. Integrated farming combines rice with fish in trenches and dugouts, horticultural crops on the embankments and duck, pig or poultry components. Existing carp-based polyculture ponds yield 3,500 to 4,500 kg per hectare and can be improved, with the low output attributed to imbalanced stocking densities, poor-quality seed, insufficient supplementary feeding and poor water management. Other options include monoculture of climbing perch, nursery rearing of spawn to fingerlings, ornamental fish production, biofloc technology, recirculating systems and freshwater pearl culture. In the wetlands, which make up 50% of India's total and where catches have fallen, culture-based fisheries with cage and pen culture are preferred.
]]>Fish supply about 60% of the animal protein eaten in Bangladesh, and almost all of the fry stocked in the country's ponds now come from hatcheries rather than from the wild. That shift rests on induced breeding: hormone treatment that brings carp into spawning condition, producing the seed farmers need as it is required.
A first-hand account from a commercial hatchery in Jashore follows carp breeding through a full production cycle, from the brood ponds to bags of fry loaded onto a truck. It explains why hormones are needed, how brood fish are conditioned and selected, application of common inducing agents, and how spawning, incubation and early rearing are managed. It also looks at what limits hatchery performance in practice, where poor record-keeping, unclear broodstock lineage and everyday problems such as power cuts affect the quality of the seed farmers receive.
]]>For decades, catfish farming in India stayed marginal for one reason: seed. Consumers preferred catfish and paid more for it, yet most indigenous species depended on wild fry collected from rivers and floodplains. Supply was seasonal and unpredictable, so farmers kept returning to reliable carp.
This article traces how ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture worked over nearly five decades to remove that constraint. Rather than treating breeding as a single step, scientists tackled the whole production system: broodstock nutrition, induced spawning, hatchery design, larval feeding and nursery management. Progress came across species from small bagrid Mystus spp., Rita chrysea, the pabda group Ompok species, the yellow catfish Horabagrus brachysoma, magur Clarias batrachus, singhi Heteropneustes fossilis, Clarias dussumieri, Pangasius pangasius and the predatory, cannibalistic Wallago attu.
The result includes low-cost FRP hatchery units, stage-specific formulated feeds and dependable seed for farmers across many states. It also describes how captive breeding eases pressure on threatened wild stocks and supports conservation alongside aquaculture.
]]>This technical manual provides practical guidance on the hatchery production of the flathead grey mullet, Mugil cephalus, a high-value, low-trophic marine species with strong potential for sustainable aquaculture development. It compiles current knowledge and tested methodologies covering the entire production cycle, from broodstock management and captive reproduction to larval rearing, fry production and grow-out.
The manual presents the biological and developmental characteristics of the species, together with practical recommendations for hatchery site selection, design and operational management. It also describes live feed production, including microalgae, rotifers and Artemia, as well as health management and disease prevention in hatchery systems.
Based on experimental research validated at laboratory and pilot scales, the techniques described are suitable for application in commercial hatcheries and adaptable to both small- and large-scale operations. By supporting reliable seed production and improved culture practices, this publication contributes to the sustainable expansion of aquaculture in line with the FAO Blue Transformation Roadmap and the principles of the Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture.
]]>This disease card provides an overview of Translucent Post-larvae Disease (TPD), a highly infectious and lethal disease known (thus far) to infect Penaeus vannamei, P. chinensis and P. japonicus mainly in post-larvae of four to seven days age (PL2~PL7). TPD can cause morbidity of up to 60% in 24 hours after clinical signs and up to 90-100% mortality in severe cases on the second to third day.
This card details the causative agent (a Vibrio spp. carrying the Vibrio high virulent protein VHP-1 and VHVP-2), host range, geographical distribution, epidemiology, prevention and control measures, histopathology, molecular diagnostics, expert contact and references.
]]>In this issue:
Access to quality seed has long constrained aquaculture of magur, a high-value indigenous catfish prized across north-eastern India. Wild stocks have declined, yet demand continues to rise. In Nalbari district of Assam, scientists and farmers have created a solution. ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture worked with local farmers to establish more than 25 magur hatcheries using innovative fibreglass-reinforced plastic designs suited to flood-prone conditions. Farmers received training in captive breeding, hormone-induced spawning, and larval rearing using specialised feeds. Individual farmers now produce 300,000-500,000 fry per season, earning substantial income while supplying seed across multiple districts. The model shows how targeted capacity building, appropriate technology, and farmer-centred interventions can transform indigenous fish seed production from a critical bottleneck into a thriving regional enterprise. Approximately 70 farmers now actively supply magur seed where scarcity once limited aquaculture expansion.
]]>Rearing stinging catfish larvae has long challenged Asian fish farmers, as young catfish naturally prefer live prey over manufactured feeds. A West Bengal farmer has developed a method that produces one million catfish fry monthly using Moina zooplankton, as the sole food source. After training at ICAR-CIFA research station, Mr Imran Molla established 25 large tanks to mass-produce Moina using simple ingredients like waste bread and mustard oil cake. He segregates catfish larvae by age into separate compartments and feeds each group appropriately sized Moina. The larvae thrive on this natural diet, reaching sale size in 30 days with high survival rates. This method requires less water management than manufactured feeds, reduces disease risk, and generates substantial income. The farmer's success demonstrates how combining scientific training with local innovation can solve critical bottlenecks in small-scale aquaculture.
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