(1) Fresh water fish culture in community ponds in India provides opportunities for increasing fish production and consumption as a source of protein. (2) Training local communities in fish farming techniques and stocking suitable fish species in underutilized community ponds has led to increased fish harvests and consumption. (3) Promoting freshwater aquaculture empowers women and marginalized groups by improving access to water resources and a nutritious food source.

1. FRESH WATER FISH CULTURE IN
AGRO-BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS, COMMUNITY
INITIATIVE IN INDIA
International Food Security Dialogue 2014
“Enhancing Food Production, Gender Equity and Nutritional Security in a Changing World.”
Sponsored By: Hosted By:
S.ABUBACKER SIDDICK*, R.DURAIRAJA, ED.I OLIVERKING

2. India Total Fish Production (2011-2012)
Total Fish Production ( Marine & Inland) 8.67 million tonnes
Marine Fish Production (in MT) 3.37 million
Inland Fish production (in MT) 5.30 million
Exported Fish and Fishery Products (2011-12)
Quantity ( in MT)
8.62 lakhs
Exported Fish and Fishery Products (2011-12)
Value in Crores
Rs.16,597.23
GDP at current prices (Fisheries Sector) in crores Rs.76,699
GDP share in overall (%) 1.07
GDP share in Agriculture (%) 4.15
source: http://www.dahd.nic.in

3. Sources of Inland Fisheries in India
Resources No.
Area
(ha.)
%
Fish
Production
(in Tonnes)
%
Reservoirs 61 52,055 13.93 1,922.30 1
Long Seasonal
Irrigation
Tanks
2012 92,304 24.70 69,269.56 39
Short Seasonal
Tanks
6007 163486 43.75 84,894.99 48
Brackish water
& Swamps
- 56,000 14.99 10,744.00 6
Others 9,851 2.63 9,394.15 6
Total
3,73,696 100 1,71,305.00 100
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4. INLAND FISHERY SCENARIO IN THREE STATES
S.No. State/UTs
Rivers
&
Canals
(Kms.)
Reservoi
rs
(Lakh
Ha)
Tanks &
Ponds
(Lakh Ha)
Floodplain
Lakes &Der-
elict Water
(Lakh Ha)
Brackish
Water
(Lakh Ha)
Total
Water
Bodies
(Lakh Ha)
1 Kerala 3092 0.3 0.3 2.43 2.4 5.43
2 Tamil Nadu 7420 5.7 0.56 0.07 0.6 6.93
3 Orissa 4500 2.56 1.14 1.8 4.3 9.8
source: http://dahd.nic.in/rtia2005/Hand%20Book%202004%20-%2011.07.05/fishstat.htm
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5. Constraints of Inland Fisheries in Agro-
Biodiversity Hotspots
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• Non availability of perennial Rivers, long term tanks and ponds
• Inadequate & erratic rain fall
• Lack of awareness among the farmers on fresh water fish production
• Major carp seed production season (May- Aug) not coinciding with
availability of water in ponds/tanks during North East monsoon, (Oct – Dec).
• Mismatch of demand & supply of fish seed. Non availability of candidate
species for stocking in short seasonal tanks.
• Water bodies are owned, under utilized and poorly managed by local
administration in all the hotspot regions.
• Water is prioritized for agriculture than fish culture.
• Public policies on water bodies - ownership as per Indian Fishery Act and
State wise Panchayat Raj Acts.
(As per Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act 1994 (RSO211) ownership of Inland water bodies
rest with local panchayat and state authority can allot ownership to community)
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6. RELEVANCE OF INLAND FISHERIES IN
APM SITES IN INDIA
• Under-nutrition, Aneamia
Protein energy Malnutrition
is prevailing across Agro-
biodiversity hotspot regions
in India.
• Alleviating Poverty and
Malnutrition (APM) project
funded by CIFSRF-IDRC of
MSSRF – UoA conducted a
study on participatory fish
culture in underutilized
community ponds.
• The objective of the study is
to Promote Fish as a source
of animal protein in the diet
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UNDER-NUTRITION STATUS IN INDIA (%)
Nutrition Indicators
NFHSII
(1998-99)
NFHS III
(2005-06)
Stunting (Children <3) 51 45
Wasting (Children <3) 20 23
Underweight (Children <3) 43 40
Anaemia (<11.0g/dl) (Children 6-
35 months) 74 79
Vitamin A deficiency (Children<5) NA 57
Women with BMI < 18.5 36 33
Men with BMI <18.5 NA 28
Women with anaemia 52 56
Men with anaemia NA 24
source: National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-3 (2005-06)
http://www.rchiips.org/nfhs/nfhs3.shtml

7. Pond User’s group formation
Resolution submitted to Village Panchayat
Panchayat president submits to BDO
BDO forwarded to AD and Collector
Collector approve and allow farmers group
Fish stocking in community ponds
Training and Demonstration
Production and consumption
Process Adopted to promote Inland Fishery
Focus Group Discussion
Pond User Group Formation
Identification of suitable water bodies
Legalization and acquiring ponds
Training and capacity building
Fish stocking in the ponds and managed
Fish harvest/ shared and consumption
V
c

8. Local Fish available in ponds are limited in quantity, are uneven sizes, fetch less market
value, and are less preferred due to poor taste
FRESH WATER FISH CULTURE : ISSUES
Snake head fish, KH
Hills
Catfish, Kolli Hills
Tilapia, Wayanad
Minor carp, Wayanad
Minor carp Kolli Hills Minor carp, Wayanad
Stinging catfish Jeypore
Snake head Fish, JY
Tilapia, Jeypore
Catfish, Kolli Hills
Minor carp, Wayanad

9. FARMERS PARTICIPATORY FISH SPECIES
SELECTION- CRITERIA
• Less mortality rate and higher production preferred
• Disease tolerant adoptable to hot and cold seasons
(Max: 350C and Min: 70C)
• Good taste and Culinary friendly species
• Easy to market and for making curries than frying
• Natural feed system based fishes preferred
• Fish which live in different water columns without
affecting each other
•Indian major carps (IMC) for fresh water farming like
Catla, Rohu, Mrigal and Grass carp were selected

10. Participatory selection of Carp Fish species
Catla
Silver Carp
Mrigal Grass Carp
Rohu
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11. Under utilized water bodies Chosen by the
community f for fish farming
Kolli Hills
Jeypore wayanad
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12. Skill Development through Training
and Demonstration
Gender participation in training and
demonstrations (Eg.KH)
Kolli
Hills
Waya
nad
Jeypo
re
Male participants 48 18 66
Female participants 76 15 82
Total participants 124 33 148
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Noofparticipants
Participants in Training and Demonstration
• Men (51%) & women (49%)
participated in Training, exposure visit
on Fish farming, Feed management &
cooking demonstrations.
67
30 37 33
55
31
44
20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Tamaraikulam Alavadikulam Nachiamman
kulam
Pattiamman
kulam
Male participants Female participants
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Community based Fish culture to cater the marginal
communities through Institution building and training

13. Training, Fish sampling and Fish nutrition
demonstration

14. OUTREACH..
• Among the 589 families using the pond, 87.2 % are marginal, 6.5 % small farmers
while 6.3% were landless. Women constitute 47% of the total pond user group.
Between 2012 and 2013, fish fingerlings were stocked in 13 community ponds and
reared for 7-8 months.
S.NO Particulars Kolli Hills Jaypore Wayanad
2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013
1 No of House Hold 115 144 490 512 10 11
2
No of settlements/
villages covered
21 25 17 23 8 10
3
No of participants
Trained
124 136 148 172 33 42

15. Production and Consumption (Public Pond Users)
PARTICULARS Kolli Hills Jeypore
2012 2013 2012 2013
Public ponds in Nos 4 4 9 16
stocking in Nos 11800 20500 31000 77600
Production in Kg 457 3587 1068 13580
consumption in Kg 112 896 820 3395
Mean consumption kg/per
head 0.219 1.75 0.391 1.61
Sold in Kg 345 2691 248 10185
local cost per Kg 150 150 100 100
No of HH 107 107 474 524
Total family members 511 511 2096 2228
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16. Production and Consumption
(Private Pond Users)
PARTICULARS Kolli Hills Jeypore Wayanad
2012 2013 2012 2013 2012 2013
Private ponds in
Nos. 8 29 16 38 10 11
stocking in Nos 200 5200 20600 83600 2700 5350
Production in Kg 63 910 830 14630 114 1275
consumption in Kg 45 227 230 2194 84 318
Mean consumption
per head (Kg) 1.15 1.60 2.45 10.11 2.1 6.76
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17. Harvesting, Processing, Consumption and Sale of
fish among the community members
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18. Prospects
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 Productivity of Water bodies can be improved by stocking right mix of
fast growing fish varieties in recommended quantities
 Indian Major Carps (IMC) seed Production hatcheries to be made
available at sites. (A mini IMC fish production hatchery established at
KolliHills with the community support – Nachiamman Club. Two farm
ponds established for fish fingerlings multiplication)
 Research on Fast growing fish varieties suitable for short seasonal
tanks in the sites to be carried out.
 All the natural feed available in water bodies can be best utilized by
stocking of composition of fish seeds utilizing different levels of water
column.
 Successful working model of Fresh water fish ponds managed by
communities help policy makers for effective utilization of ponds

19. Summary
• There is potential for promoting fresh water
fish culture from community ponds, which
entails fish as an additional protein dietary
source in household consumption.
• Fresh water Fish culture in community and
private ponds (long term and seasonal)help
women, marginal and landless to access
under utilized water bodies.
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20. THANK YOU
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