A bureau de change? What's that got to do with the price of fish? Quite a lot, actually. Well over two thirds of the world's farmed common carp is produced in China. As a result, it is believed that the strength of the Chinese yuan can have a significant effect on the market price of this fish worldwide.

1. 36 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2015
EXPERT T●PIC
Welcome to Expert Topic. Each issue will take an in-depth look
at a particular species and how its feed is managed.
CARP
EXPERT TOPIC

2. 1Fish and
finance:
How China
dictates the
size of your
carp farm
by Malachi Stone, International Aquafeed
A
bureau de change? What's that
got to do with the price of fish?
Quite a lot, actually. Well over
two thirds of the world's farmed
common carp is produced in China. As a
result, it is believed that the strength of the
Chinese yuan can have a significant effect on
the market price of this fish worldwide.
Now, imagine you are a carp-farmer in
India. You are well aware that the cheaper
carp is for the consumer, the less lucrative
it is for you, the producer. And therefore,
the fewer production costs you can meet.
Production costs such as the price of specially-
formulated fish feeds.
Without such feeds, you are forced to rely
on whatever protein sources you can gather
from the surrounding countryside: snails,
worms, clams and insects. But even if you had
all day free to gather it, such a supply has its
limits. There's only so many bugs and slugs an
area can produce every twenty-four hours.
And so, you are caught in a classic catch-
22 situation: you will only be able to feed,
and thus produce, more carp per unit area of
your pondage should the price of carp go up
significantly, providing you with a comfortable
profit-margin from which to spend on special-
ised feeds. But such a price-hike will tend to
happen only if fewer carp are being produced.
Unless, of course, the Chinese oblige you by
doing something to significantly strengthen
their own currency and so drive carp prices
up that way. Which isn’t terribly likely.
Small wonder, then, that only about 3 per-
cent of carp are currently farmed intensively
in tanks or cages.
Nevertheless, the common carp is still one
of the most widely cultured freshwater fish in
the world, accounting for about eight or nine
percent of global aquaculture production. This
percentage has remained constant over the
last few years: carp aquaculture has increased
in direct proportion to the growth in aquacul-
ture of all species worldwide.
Most carp are farmed on a less intensive
scale, in ponds in polyculture with a variety of
other fish species. The ratio of carp to other
fish can vary hugely, from a few percent to
almost all the individuals in a pond.
When it comes to breeding, the farmer
can let the fish just 'do their thing' and spawn
when they feel the urge, depositing their
fertilised eggs on artificial substrates which
are then removed to another pond before
the forgetful parents eat their own offspring
(alternatively it is the adult fish who are
transferred).
But to maximise production, a little ingenu-
ity is called for. The following 'recipe' gives a
general outline of the usual practice:
1. Take a female fish - the bigger the
better.
2. Inject her with hormones to induce ovu-
lation artificially and on a larger scale than
would occur naturally (Alternatively, the
hormone can be administered in little
balls put into the water).
3. When she's fat with eggs, scoop her out
of the water, hold her over a bucket and
give her belly a gentle squeeze.
4. Take the eggs thus collected, mix them
with sperm (likewise produced by inject-
ing hormones into one or more males)
and allow fertilisation to take place.
5. Incubate the fertilised eggs for 3 to 5
days at at least 20 degrees Celsius.
Being poikilotherms (ie, 'cold-blooded'),
carp do best in warmer climes. The eggs hatch
quicker, the juveniles and adults feed more
actively, food is converted more efficiently
to body-mass and, as a result, the fish grow
more rapidly.
Optimum growth and propagation seem
to occur between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius.
Widely distributed across the globe, this
is nonetheless a fish that does best in and
around the tropics.
Source: FAO
March-April 2015 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 37
EXPERT T●PIC
1
2

3. W
orld freshwater fish farming produced a total of
about 50 million tonnes in 2012. The main fish
family in production was the Cyprinidae (carp
family). India is the second largest producer in the
world, a long way behind to China. Inland fish production in India has
increased at a higher rate since 1980.
Carp is a common name for various species of freshwater fish of
the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and
Asia. Cyprinids particularly the wide variety of carp species, represent a
cheap source of protein for subsistence aquaculture in “warm” temper-
ate and subtropical countries.
Present status
In India carp production is coming from both the systems of inland
resources i.e. capture and aquaculture.
Inland capture fisheries: The inland water resources of the country
are in terms of 29,000 km of rivers, 0.3 million ha of estuaries, 0.19 mil-
lion ha of backwaters and lagoons, 3.15 million ha of reservoirs, 0.2 mil-
lion ha of floodplain wetlands and 0.72 million ha of upland lakes, which
contributes about 1.05 million tonnes of fish annually. The 14 major, 44
medium and innumerable small rivers of the country provide for one
of the richest inland fish faunal resources of the world. 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.
Freshwater aquaculture: Ponds and tanks are the prime resources
for freshwater aquaculture; however, only about 40 percent of the
available area is used for aquaculture currently. Ponds in eastern India
are typically homestead ponds of less than 1 ha in size, while the water-
sheds in western India are larger covering expanses of between 15–25
ha each. 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.
Carp culture forms the backbone to freshwater aquaculture practice
in India. India, as the second largest aquaculture producer in the world,
has the major contribution from freshwater aquaculture, whose share
in inland fisheries has gone up from 46 percent in the 1980s to over 85
percent in the recent years. Carp production is increasing tremendous-
ly throughout the India since 1991 and caters to the tastes of all classes
of people ranging from aristocratic urban consumers to the rural poor
(Table: 1 & Image: 1). Carp form the mainstay of aquaculture practice
in India contributing over 85 percent of the total aquaculture produc-
tion. The three Indian major carps, viz. catla (Catla catla) rohu (Labeo
rohita) and mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) contribute bulk of the produc-
tion in the country,
whereas the three
domesticated exotic
carp such as silver carp
(Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix), grass carp
(Ctenopharyngodon
idella) and common
crap (Cyprinus car-
pio) from the second
important group.
Carp production in India:
Present status and prospects
By Dr B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer, Department of
Fisheries, Mahabubnagar, India
2
Table 1: Carp production in India from 1991
to 2010
Year
Inland fish
production
(in tonnes)
Carp
production
(in tonnes)
Carp fish
percent
1991 1655407 1140693 69%
2000 2828106 2008412 71%
2010 5077200 4073322 80%
38 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2015
EXPERT T●PIC

4. To incorporate several other medium and minor carps into the
carp polyculture systems, several methods were used because of their
religion-specific consumer preference and higher market demand
besides their growth potential. Some of these included kalbasu (Labeo
calbasu), fringe-lipped carp (L. fimbriatus), bata (L. bata), Malabar labeo
(L. dussumieri), olive barb (Puntius sarana), Jerdon’s barb (P. jerdoni),
Cauvery carp (Cirrhinus cirrhosa) etc. Out of 266 carp species available
in Indian region, about 34 carp species are economical and which are
produced mainly from capture fishery, and less than 10 carp species
are produced from both the aquaculture and capture fishery in the
country (Table: 2).
The research and development efforts during last six decades
have placed the carps farming as an importance economic enterprise
revolutionised the fresh water aquaculture section to the level of a
fast growing industry. The nation mean the production levels from
still-water ponds as gone up from about 600 Kg/ha/year in 1974 to
over 2.5 tonnes /ha /year at present, and several farmers are even
demonstrating higher production levels of eight to 12 tonnes / ha /
year. Carp culture, expanded its dimensions from 1984 in terms of
area coverage and intensity of operation, with Andhra Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana, Maharashtra, etc. taking of fish culture as a commercial farm-
ing enterprise.
Chinese hatchery introduction in the country in the year 1980s
led to the large-scale production of carp seed in the country and the
spread of carp culture technology. The carp culture technology has
been popularised throughout the country and the average productiv-
ity levels are reported to around 2200 kg/ha/year in the
polyculture systems of carp.
Seed raring and grow-out cul-
tures are the two main components
of carp culture technology, which
have undergone several modifications and
refinements over the years to evolve to
the present day package of farming
Table 3: Commercially cultured Carp species in India
Category Common Name Scientific Name
Indian
Major Carp
1. Catla Catla catla
2. Rohu Labeo rohita
3. Mrigal Cirrhinus mrigala
Exotic Carp
1. Silver carp Hypophthalmichthys malitrix
2. Grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella
3. Common carp Cyprinus carpio
March-April 2015 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 39
EXPERT T●PIC

5. 18.Silver carp
19.High –backed Mahseer
20.Puntius jerdoni
21.Puntius sarana
22.Cirrhinus cirrhosa
23.Cirrhinus reba
24.Labeo bata
25.Labeo dussumieri
26.Labeo calbasu
27.Labeo fimbriatus
16.Mrigala
Table 2: Important commercial Carp species and source of production in India
Sl.
No.
Common name Scientific name
Source of
production
1 Indian carplet
Amblypharyngodon microlepis
(Bleeker, 1853)
Capture
2 Mola caplet
Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamilton,
1822)
Capture
3 Barred baril Barilius barilius (Hamilton, 1822) Capture
4 Catla Catla catla (Hamilton,1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
5 Mrigal Cirrhinus mrigal (Hamilton,1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
6 Cauvery white carp Cirrhinus cirrhosus (Bloch, 1795) Capture
7 Reba carp Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton, 1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
8 Grass carp
Ctenopharyngodon idella
(Valenciennes,1844)
Aquaculture &
Capture
9 Common carp Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758)
Aquaculture &
Capture
10 Gotyla Garra gotyla (Gray, 1830) Capture
11 Cumuca barb
Gonoproktopterus curmuca (Hamilton,
1807)
Capture
12 Nilgiris barb Gonoproktopterus dubius (Day, 1867) Capture
13 Kolus Gonoproktopterus kolus (Sykes, 1839) Capture
14 Korhi barb
Gonoproktopterus micropogon
(Valenciennes, 1842)
Capture
15 Silver carp
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
(Valenciennes,1844)
Aquaculture
16 Bata labeo Labeo bata (Hamilton, 1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
17 Boggut labeo Labeo boggut (Sykes, 1839) Capture
18 Kalbasu Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
19 Malabar labeo Labeo dussumieri (Valenciennes, 1842) Capture
20 Fringe-lipped carp Labeo fimbriatus (Bloch, 1795) Capture
21 Deccan labeo Labeo kawrus (Sykes, 1839) Capture
22 Pigmouth carp Labeo kontius (Jerdon, 1849) Capture
23 Rohu Labeo rohita (Hamilton,1822)
Capture &
Aquaculture
24 Bheema osteobrama Osteobrama vigorsii (Sykes, 1839) Capture
25 Jerdon’s barb Puntius jerdoni (Jerdon, 1849) Capture
26 Olive barb Puntius sarana (Hamilton,1822) Capture
27 Spot fin barb Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) Capture
28 Kooli barb Puntius vittatus Day, 1865 Capture
29 Black line rasbora Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton, 1822) Capture
30 Large minnow Salmostoma bacaila (Hamilton, 1822) Capture
31 Deccan Mahseer Tor khudree (Sykes, 1839) Capture
32 Tor Mahseer Tor tor (Hamilton, 1822 ) Capture
33 Golden Mahseer Tor putitora (Hamilton, 1822) Capture
34 High –backed Mahseer Tor mussullah (Sykes, 1839) Capture
Table 4: Carp culture system levels in India
Sl.
No.
Culture
System
Seed
stocking
Level
Management Level
Fish
Production
Level
1
Low - input
system
(Extensive)
2500-3000/
ha
No supplementary feeding
Use of low cost fertilisers for
development of natural food forms
Less care on health and growth of fish
2-3 tonnes
/ ha/ year
2
Medium -
input system
(semi-
intensive)
4000-5000/
ha
Medium supplementary feeding
Aeration very rare
Use of medium fertilisers
Normal care on health and growth of
fish
4-6 tonnes
/ ha/ year
3
High - input
system
(Intensive)
8000-
10,000/ha
Higher supplementary feeding
Intensive aeration
Use of high fertilisers
Intensive care on health and growth of
fish
10-15
tonnes /
ha/ year
40 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2015
EXPERT T●PIC

6. practices. Culture systems, from extensive to
intensive, have been developed depending on
the varied input use. The technologies of seed
rearing, comprising rearing spawn to fry in
nursery and farther fried to fingerlings in rear-
ing ponds have been accepted as economi-
cally viable activities farmer’s level throughout
the country. Indian freshwater aquaculture is
mostly based on few species e.g. about 90
percent of production is contributed by Indian
major carp viz., Catla, Rohu and Mrigala and
exotic carp viz., Silver carp, Grass carp and
Common carp (Table: 3).
Carp culture is undertaken mostly in earth-
en ponds, irrigational tanks, reservoirs etc of
varying dimensions. Over the years, several
culture practices were evolved in
the country for different water
resources utilising a wide spec-
trum of fish species, fertilisers and
feed resources as main inputs. The
standardised packages of prac-
tices for carp polyculture include
pond preparation, liming, fertilisa-
tion, stocking management, sup-
plementary feeding, water quality
management, health management
etc. With an understanding of the
biological basis of fish production,
a series of systems are available
with varying levels of inputs and
outputs (Table: 4).
Farmers of Andhra Pradesh,
particularly in the Krishna, East
Godavari and West Godavari
Districts has innovated several
new techniques of carp culture
and those have contributed to
increase the carp culture produc-
tivity in the country substantially.
Farmers in this state are now able to get an
average production of 8000 kg/ha/year with
Rohu as the most dominant species in the
culture system. This impressive production
has been made possible by adapting the fol-
lowing various techniques in culture system:
• Stocking of stunted fingerlings of larger
initial weight.
March-April 2015 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | 41
EXPERT T●PIC
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7. • Regular feeding with farm made feed consisting largely of rice
bran mixed with different types of oil cakes and mineral mixtures.
• Heavy fertilisation with both organic manures and inorganic
fertilisers.
• Proper tank / pond management from stocking to harvesting time
Similar spectacular developments in carp culture have taken place
in the state of Punjab and the farmers have modified the technology to
suit their areas and obtain an average production of more than 5000
kg/ha/year. Besides these two states, West Bengal on Eastern part
of the country not only produces significant amount of carp, but also
most of the production from the states like Andhra Pradesh have been
reaching fish markets in West Bengal and other Eastern States.
Constraints
Though the country is producing significant level of carp production
still there is a scope to enhance the carp production further.
Seed: The country is self sufficient for fry production at present but
non – availability of quality fingerlings of desired species and size has been
a major constraint over the years in carp farming. The fingerling rearing
process is often ignored due to shortage of rearing space in carp farm-
ing. Higher cost involvement and cumbersome process of long distance
transportation of fingerlings also forces the farmers resorting to stocking
their tanks/ponds with fry, often in irrational quantity, which leads to poor
survival and low production. The culture technology recommends differ-
ent species ratios of the carp species depending on their combination;
the farmers do not have any choice but to depend on the seed supply by
the seed farm/vendors. Such a situation often leads to irrational stocking
and this failing to harvest at potential level.
Feed and manures: In many tanks / ponds in the country though
continue carp culture activity, productivity levels in small ponds have
declined since most farmers resort to stocking large number of fish
seed without providing any other inputs like feed and manures in
significant quantities. Feed costs are also increased significantly in the
market and fish cost was not enhanced proportionately.
Prospects
Keeping in view of these constraints, there is a large yield gap
between potential production and actual productions obtained. For
example, the research and farmers in Andhra Pradesh have demon-
strated the potential for obtaining over 15 tones / ha production in
carp culture and, the national average presently is around 2.20 tonnes
/ ha and in some states it is much lower. Hence it is necessary to
reassess the methods being followed for transfer of research outputs
to the farming community.
Carp culture in India, during the last five decades, has grown in
geographical coverage with diverse systems, besides intensification
of farming practices. A concern however is with regard to species
diversification, in spite of the fact that the country possesses several
other potential and cultivable medium and minor carp species hav-
ing a high region demand, viz. Labeo calbasu, L.fimbriatns, L. gonius,
L. dussumeieri, L. bata, Cirrhinus cirrhosa, C. reba, Puntius sarana,
P. jerdoni (Figure 20-27) etc. Presently, efforts are being made for
mass-scale seed production of these species and their inclusion
as a component of conventional carp polyculture, based on their
regional importance.
References available upon request
42 | INTERNATIONAL AQUAFEED | March-April 2015
EXPERT T●PIC

8. DIRECTORY & BUYERS’ GUIDE 2015/16
THE INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE GUIDE
The International Aquafeed Directory was launched in 1997 as an
easy-to-use publication for manufacturers of fish feed to source
suppliers. It evolved to become a practical guide to plant and
materials available throughout the world.
The International Aquafeed Directory continues to maintain its
unique position. It is one of the most comprehensive directories
specifically designed to identify all aquafeed ingredients, raw
material feedstuffs, feed additive micro-ingredients, production
machinery, plant and equipment available on the world market.
Make sure your company is listed in
the 2015/16 edition
If you have not already received your listing renewal via email, then
contact Barbara Williams on Tel: +44 (0) 1923 437616 or email
b.williams@turretgroup.com. Alternatively you can visit
www.turretgroup.com to download the entry form. For details on
display advertising contact Julie Saridakis Tel: +44 (0) 1923 437620
j.saridakis@turretgroup.com.
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