Abstract
To increase the production capacity of the existing inland aquaculture system of Pakistan, there is a dire need for the
introduction of high-value fish species with growth potential at intensified stocking densities and having export potential.
The African catfish having above mentioned promising culture characteristics was tried to interpolate the local habitat of
Pakistan. For this purpose four thousand African catfish at the fry stage were airlifted from Thailand to Islamabad, Pakistan.
To recover the fish from transportation stress, the fish was initially kept under intensive care in circular tanks and raceways
for seven days. After recovery from the stress period the fish was shifted to earthen ponds and raceways for an
acclimatization period of three months. During the acclimatization period fish showed better growth in earthen ponds as
compared to raceways. Negligible mortality was recorded during the process of acclimatization in raceways and earthen
ponds, but low survival rate was observed in raceways (30.4%) and earthen ponds (63.4 %). This lower survival rate in spite
of very low natural mortality confirmed the phenomenon of cannibalism in this fish. To minimize the process of cannibalism,
sized base sorting was done after 5 days and 7 days. A significantly higher survival rate was observed in sorted groups as
compared to the non-sorted group. So it was concluded from this study that African catfish were successfully transported and
acclimatized in local environmental conditions of Pakistan. However the phenomenon of cannibalism existed in this catfish
species that was minimized through physical grading of fish based on its size.
Hasina Basharat, Muhammad Ramzan Ali, Aziz Ahmed, ShamimAkhter. (2020) INTRODUCTION OF AFRICAN CATFISH (Clarias gariepinus) IN AQUACULTURE SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN: ITS TRANSPORTATION, ACCLIMATIZATION AND CANNIBALISM STUDY, Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Volume 57, Issue 6.
-
Views
665 -
Downloads
90
Article Details
Volume
Issue
Type
Language
