Traditional aquaculture practices have been used in India for centuries, as documented in ancient texts. These include brackish water shrimp and fish farming using tidal flows. In western India, Bhery culture involves constructing ponds surrounded by earthen dykes, with sluice gates to control tidal water entry and drainage. Sea water and naturally occurring plankton and organic matter support fish growth. In southern India, Pokkali fields use similar tidal flooding of rice paddies for shrimp culture after the rice is harvested. These traditional low-input methods continue today in some areas, though productivity is low.

1. TRADITIONAL AQUACULTURE
PRACTICES IN INDIA

2. INTRODUCTION
• Fishing and aquaculture practices in India has a long history.
• Kautilya’s “Arthashasthra”(BC. 321-300) and King
Someswara’s “Manasoothra”(A.D1127) refer about the fish
cultural practices.
• In eastern India , hundreds of years ago the culturing of
fishes on small ponds was practiced.
• Brackish water aquaculture also an age old practice
• Comprises Bhery or Bhasa-badha fishery in West Bengal and
Pokkali shrimp farming in Kerala.
• These practices not use any additional knowledge and
Technologies rather than trapping of naturally breeded
juveniles of fishes and prawns.

3. CORRENTLY USED TRADITIONAL WAYS
• Three types
1. Paddy cultivation during rainy season (June-
September) followed by fish or shrimp
culture. eg: Pokkali
2. Fish or Prawn culture through out the year.
This is on deep fields on eastern India
3. Paddy come fish culture. Mainly on W. Bengal
and Goa.

4. BHERY CULTURE OR BHASA-BADHA
FISHERIES
• Traditional practices on W.Bengal
• The low laying areas of Sunderben region.
• Bheries : They are chiefly large perenial water bodies
• surrounded by earthen dykes which are constructed by
borrowing earth form the trenches excavated inside the
bheries near the toe line of the dykes.
• The bheries are deeper and larger in extent than the pokkali
fields of Kerala.
• These fields have sluices on marginal bandhs.
• During high tide the sea water enters to the fields but at low
tide the water flow back through sluices which are covered
with screen made up by bamboo slates.
• The screen prevent the escaping of fish or shrimp juvaniles.

5. • The juveniles on Bheries grow using the organic
matter and planktons on sea water and without
use any external feeds.
• The water on the fields continuously replenished
by the tidal water flow.
• The fish or shrimp grow up to marketable size
harvested.
• The stocking of fishes done on during the months
of January to February.
• In Bhery culture system the productivity is 168-
672kg/Ha/Yr.

6. POKKALI
• The pokkali culture also similar one
• Pokkali fields are less deeper than bheries and
in these the rice and prawns are cultured.
• Pokkali is a localy available high salinity
tolerant rice variety.
• In Pkkali fields, thesoil is stiff and impervious
clay, rich in organic matter as deposits of
plants and shells.
• Paddy cultivated on June-October.

8. PADDY CULTURE
• The peripheral bundhs are strengthened by
planting mangroves, or using bamboo slates
and splitted coconut stakes during monsoon.
• The fresh rain water drain out the salts and
reduce salinity, on this fields the paddy is
cultivated.
• the rice is harvested on october to November.

9. SHRIMP CULTURE
• The traditional shrimp farming on pokkali fields are called
'Chemmeen Vattu‘, ‘Chemmeen Kettu' or 'Adappu' .
• After harvesting rice, the bundhs( or sluices) are opened. So the
sea water enters to the fields. This fields used for shrimp culture.
• For culturing, the bundhs separating the fields are strengthened
and the inflow and outflow of the water regulated through sluice
gates.
• The stocking of the field is done by the incoming tidal water.
• Water is let in Water is let in during high tide and let out
during low tide keeping a close bamboo screen at the mouth
of the sluice to prevent the shrimp from escaping.
• The seed thus entered into the field is allowed to grow for a
short period by feeding on the natural food available.
• The stock is harvest when it reaches to marketable size.

10. Chemmeen kettu
• After harvesting the stock there is a celebration called
“kettukalakkal”. In which all peoples related to the area come
and fishing on the shrimp cultural pond

11. SPECIESES CULTURED
• penaeus indicus – 42%
• Metapenaeus monoceros -4%
• Penaeus monodon – 1%
• Metapenaeus dobsoni- 55%

12. CONCLUSION
• India has a long history on aqua culture.
• The main age old aquaculture practices are
pokkali with chemmeenkeetu in kerala and
bhery fisheries in W.Bengal
• Traditional practices have low productivity but
the culture coast is very low
• Nowadays also these type of fish cultuaral
practices are followed in some areas.

13. THANK YOU