Catfish, which is a significant group of the fishes in wetlands, are economically important with a high nutrient value. Catfishes, owing to their unique taste, few bones, are considered a delicacy for the fish consumers, but production of different indigenous catfishes through aquaculture is unexplored in India, although aquaculture contribution of some of the catfish varieties like Ictalurus, Silurus and Clarias spp. has been exemplary in the World scenario.

1. C
atfish, which is a significant group of the fishes in
wetlands, are economically important with a high nutrient
value. Catfishes, owing to their unique taste, few bones,
are considered a delicacy for the fish consumers, but
production of different indigenous catfishes through aquaculture is
unexplored in India, although aquaculture contribution of some of
the catfish varieties like Ictalurus, Silurus and Clarias spp. has been
exemplary in the World scenario.
Catfishes are the second major group of freshwater fishes. India,
being a mega-diverse country, harbors 197 catfish species from 52
genera. The Indian families include Amblycipitidae (Torrent catfishes),
Akysidae (Stream catfishes), Bagridae (Bagrid catfishes), Chacidae
(Square head or angler catfish), Clariidae (Air breathing catfishes),
Heteropneustidae (Air-sac catfishes), Olyridae (Long-tail catfishes),
Pangasiidae (Shark catfishes), Plotosidae (Eel-tail catfishes), Schilbeidae
(Schilbid catfishes), Siluridae (Sheat fishes), Sisoridae (Sisorid catfishes).
Present status
Considering the high market demand for catfish and the avail-
ability of a huge potential resource in the form of many inland water
resources, commercial farming of these species is presently receiving
important attention. In India catfish production is coming from both the
systems of inland resources i.e. capture and aquaculture.
Capture: The inland water resources of the country are in terms
of rivers, estuaries, backwaters and lagoons, reservoirs, floodplain
wetlands and upland lakes, which contribute about 1.05 million
tonnes of fish annually. The principal rivers of India as Yamuna, Ganga,
Brahmaputra, Mahanandi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery including
their main tributaries and distributaries harbors about 11.5 percent
of the fish fauna so far know in the world. Many of the catfish species
start from 15 grams size (Mystus tengara) to very large about 50 Kg size
(Hemibagrus maydelli) harvested from these water sources in India.
And many of the well-known food catfishes are also fine sporting fishes.
Aquaculture: Ponds and tanks are the prime resources for freshwa-
ter aquaculture; however, only about 40 percent of the available area
is used for aquaculture currently. In northern India, open waters with
in-flows are common, while southern India has watersheds, termed as
tanks, largely used for crop irrigation along with carp fish culture.
After carps, cat-
fish production is also
increasing tremen-
dously throughout the
India since 2001 (Table:
1). Out of 197 catfish
species available in
Indian region, about 30
catfish species are eco-
nomical and which are
produced mainly from
capture fishery, and a
couple of catfish spe-
cies are produced from
both the aquaculture
and capture fishery in
the country (Table: 2).
There are six catfish
Table 1: Catfish production in India from
2001 to 2010
Year Inland fish
production
(in tonnes)
Catfish
production
(in tonnes)
Catfish
%
2001 3084247 78367 2.54
2002 3165927 101488 3.20
2003 3220407 106282 3.30
2004 3527505 78990 2.23
2005 3727375 132342 3.55
2006 3750736 130027 3.46
2007 4170560 125800 3.01
2008 3799563 174503 4.59
2009 4660463 179843 3.85
2010 5077200 212462 4.18
Table 3: Commercially cultured Catfish species in India.
Sl.
No.
Family Common Name Scientific Name
1 Clariidae Magur Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus)
2 Clariidae African catfish
or Thai magur
Clarias gariepinus (Burchell)
3 Heteropneustidae Singhi or stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis
4 Siluridae Butter catfish Ompok bimaculatus
5 Pangasiidae Pangas Pangasius pangasius
6 Pangasiidae Sutchi catfish Pangasianodon
hypophthalmus
Catfish production
in India: Present status and prospects
by Dr B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer, Department of Fisheries,
16 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | September-October 2015
FEATURE

2. species are cultured in India (Table 3). Among six, only two catfish
species viz. Pangasianodon and African catfish culture is intensified in
the country due to its higher production rates by using various local
as well as commercial feeding methods. Of late, Government of India
permitted culture of Pangasianodon and Tilapia species laying down
strict guidelines as an alternative crop to carp fishes.
Pangasius sutchi or Pangasianodon hypophthalmus one of the swift
growing catfishes was first introduced into India in the year 1995–1996
in the state of West Bengal from Thailand through Bangladesh. Initially
farming was carried out in limited area in the States of West
Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. This fish grows to 1–1.5 kg dur-
ing one year. A minimum of 10–15 tonnes/hectare/year is
harvested through due to culture of this fish.
In commercial culture of Pangasianodon farmers are using
both pelleted and extruded feeds. Due to high feed cost and
fluctuation in production costs, in some areas farmers are using
local feeds like cooked corn grains, broken rice, chicken waste
etc.
African catfish or Thai magur, Clarias gariepinus culture was banned
in India under Environment Protection Act. But many fishermen still
cultivating this banned catfish illegally in village ponds to make a quick
buck. This species was clandestinely introduced into the state of West
Bengal possibly during 1994 from neighboring Bangladesh and quickly
spread throughout the country, including into cold regions as well as
coastal areas. It is largely cultured in the states of West Bengal, Punjab,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana. Clarias gariepinus is usually fed waste intestines and skin of
chickens so it grows fast than compared to
other local species catfish or carp’s fish with
low feeding cost.
Prospects
Aquaculture in India has become an indus-
try since late eighties with several entre-
preneurs taking up aquaculture with carps,
catfishes and prawns. Of late, Government
of India has also identified catfish farming as
a National Priority and has emphasised on
diversification of culture practices. The major
chunk of catfish, however, comes from cap-
ture resources, which includes air breathing
as well as non-air-breathing varieties. Air-
breathing catfishes have greater potentiality to
utilise shallow, swampy, marshy and derelict
water-bodies for aquaculture; whereas non-
air-breathing catfishes can be well suited to
normal pond environment.
Among the catfishes magur, Clarias batra-
chus is the only species that has received
much attention. Singhi, Heteropneustes fos-
silis is another air-breathing catfish species
being cultured to a certain extent in swamps
and derelict water bodies, especially in the
eastern states. In recent years, attempts have
been made to develop the culture of non-air
breathing catfishes like Pangasius pangasius,
Wallagoattu, Aorichthys seenghala, A. aor and
Ompok pabda.
Table 2: Important commercial Catfish species and source of production in India
Sl.
No.
Species Family Source of
production
Common name Scientific name
1 Gangetic mystus Mystus cavasius (Hamilton) Bagridae Capture
2 Day’s mystus Mystus bleekeri (Day) Bagridae Capture
3 Tengara mystus Mystus tengara (Hamilton) Bagridae Capture
4 Gogra rita Rita gogra (Sykes) Bagridae Capture
5 Giant river catfish Aorichthys seenghala (Sykes) Bagridae Capture
6 Long-whiskerd catfish Aorichthys aor (Hamilton) Bagridae Capture
7 Krishna mystus Hemibagrus maydelli (Rossell) Bagridae Capture
8 Indian butter-catfish Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch) Siluridae Capture
9 Pabdah catfish Ompok pabda (Hamilton) Siluridae Capture & Aquaculture
10 Boal Wallago attu (Bloch & Schneider) Siluridae Capture
11 White catfish Silonia children (Sykes) Schilbidae Capture
12 Khavalchor catfish Neotropius khavalchor Kulkarni Schilbidae Capture
13 Goongwaree vacha Eutropiichthys goongwaree
(Sykes)
Schilbidae Capture
14 Indian potasi Pseudeutropius atherinoides
(Bloch)
Schilbeidae Capture
15 Gangetic goonch Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton) Sisoridae Capture
16 Stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) Heteropneustidae Capture & Aquaculture
17 Magur Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus) Clariidae Capture & Aquaculture
18 African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell)* Clariidae Aquaculture
19 Pungas Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton) Pangasidae Capture
20 Sutchi catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus* Pangasidae Aquaculture
*Exotic species
September-October 2015 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 17
FEATURE