An Appraisal of Introduced African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) in India: Invasion and Risks
Journal Title: Annual Research & Review in Biology - Year 2015, Vol 6, Issue 1
Abstract
Production trend, food and feeding, reproduction and distribution of clandestinely introduced African catfish Clarias gariepinus was studied in 419 grow out ponds. Hybrid African catfish was found more popular owing to its fast growth and because of recycling it with chicken and slaughterhouse wastes. The growth, survival and production of the fish was found to vary largely due to variations in stocking density, pond sizes, feeding types, level of cannibalism, predation, genetic lineage. The calculated growth of the fish ranged 23.52±2.8 g month-1 (minimum) in some grow-out farms while it was 223.14±18.8 g month-1 (maximum) in others. The computation of the grow-out farms as per the feed types revealed that 7% grow-out farms subsisted on naturally available pond food; while 29% farms, the fish was fed with slaughterhouse waste; in 32% farms, chicken waste was used as feed while in 11% cases fish waste material was provided and 21% ponds, the farmers used improvised convention feed or commercial pellet feed. The fish was found to possess human health risk as assessed for heavy metal contamination of lead (Pb) in chicken waste fed cultures. C. gariepinus was assessed as generalised piscivore, and invasive species therefore, we have attempted to understand the impacts associated with unauthorised introduction and spread of the fish in India. The highly carnivorous habit, tolerance to wide habitat and harsh environment and natural breeding of the fish warranted for its invasiveness which were attributable to the biodiversity loss. The issues associated with the culture and spread of the fish is discussed in this paper.
Authors and Affiliations
A. K. Singh, Abubakar Ansari, Sharad C. Srivastava, Vinoy Kumar Shrivastava
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP353648
- DOI 10.9734/ARRB/2015/13375
- Views 68
- Downloads 0
Evaluation of in vitro Antioxidant Characteristics of Corn Starch Bioactive Films Impregnated with Bunium persicum and Zataria multiflora Essential Oils
Autoxidation is considered as one of the main factors responsible for deterioration which occurs during manufacturing, storage, distribution and final preparation of foods. Changes caused by lipid oxidation not only resu...
On the Environmental Impact of Freshwater Fish Farms in Greece and in Iceland
In the present study, we focused on the nitrogen and phosphorus levels generated by open flow freshwater fish farms in Greece and Iceland where salmonid fish are cultivated. There are several differences in the legislati...
Studies on Establishment of Aseptic Culture in Pomegranate cv. Bhagwa
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an economically important fruit crop of arid and semiarid regions of the world. Micropropagation of pomegranate, have provided many advantages over the conventional methods of vegetati...
Personality and Sociality in Captive Tigers (Panthera tigris)
Aims: In this study we assessed the personality and sociality of eight zoo tigers. Place and Duration of the Study: This study was conducted over five months at Le Cornelle Faunistic Park (Valbrembo, BG, Italy). Methodo...
Animal Welfare in Ecotourism
The negative welfare experienced by some animals within the tourism trade has been well publicised across various mediums, from modern scientific literature and industry audits to public outcry on social media. However,...