Naga - The
No. 3 (July - September 1999)
of Tropical Aquaculture Fisheries Professionals
(Aquaculture Section of NTAFP)
Scientists are becoming more vocal
about the need for conservation of aquatic resources
that are increasingly under threat. The potential
for aquaculture of a large number of species has
yet to be assessed. However, their importance
in capture fisheries should not be underestimated.
A paper in a previous issue highlighted the importance
of small size indigenous finfish as a valuable
source of calcium, iron and vitamin A in Bangladesh.
This issue has an article that highlights the
decline in the availability of indigenous small
fish to the rural poor as a result of agricultural
intensification and the resultant habitat loss.
It indicates a need for developing aquaculture
of these species to protect this important source
of nutrition for the rural population.
and reintroduction of exotics to increase production
from aquaculture operations is going on in many
countries with little or no concern for the impact
of these introductions on the environment and
biodiversity. The paper from India suggests a
strategy for management and reintroduction of
exotics based on ecological and genetic data.
of the Nilgiri Rainbow Trout
Gopalakrishnan, K.K. Lal and A.G. Ponniah
Rainbow trout is one of the important exotic
species that is well established in the upland
waters of India. This paper presents the historical
background of its introduction and the present
status of the fish in the streams of the Nilgiri
peninsula of India. The rainbow trout inhabits
natural reservoirs and streams of the region as
a self recruiting population. The growth rate
is reported to be relatively low and conflicting
views about its taxonomic status have been reported.
Successful crossbreeding of the Nilgiri rainbow
trout with trout stocks from the Indian state
of Himachal Pradesh has indicated the scope for
utilizing cryopreserved milt as a mode of introducing
new genetic material into the Nilgiri rainbow
trout population. This paper outlines the requirement
of ecological and genetic data to develop a strategy
for management and reintroduction of fresh stocks.
Gopalakrishnan, K.K. Lal and A.G. Ponniah are
from the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources
(NBFGR) 351/28, Dariyapur, Talkatora Road, P.O.
Box No. 19 Lucknow 226 004, U.P., India.
Aquaculture of Small Native Species (SNS) in Bangladesh:
Village Level Agroecological Change and the Availability
Mazumder and K. Lorenzen
native species (SNS) of fish are an important
source of protein and income for rural people
in Bangladesh. A rapid rural appraisal study was
carried out to explore recent changes in the availability
of SNS in relation to agroecology and related
issues. Village residents noted that the availability
of SNS had declined drastically due to habitat
loss related to agricultural intensification and
due to the restriction of access to the remaining
habitats in the course of aquaculture development.
Their perception was that poor people had gained
from the intensification of agriculture in terms
of rice consumption but had lost in terms of reduced
access to fish and other animal products.
D. Mazumder is a Research Associate at *ICLARM,
Road no. 7, House no. 75, Block-H, Banani, Dhaka-1213,
K. Lorenzen is Lecturer in Freshwater Fisheries
at the Huxley School of Environment, Earth Sciences
and Engineering, Imperial College, 8 Princes Gardens,
London SW7 1NA.