Fisheries

Prawn Culture 1. Introduction Over the years, aquaculture in India has evolved from a subsistence and backyard activity to that of a technology driven commercial and profitable venture. India is now second in world aquaculture production next to China. . The success of commercial aquaculture in India is attributed to the availability of vast untapped surface water resources, standardisation of many new production and associated techniques of input and output subsystems, extension of technology and practical knowledge to the farmers through the State/Central Government agencies/organisations (i.e. FFDAs, ICAR research institutes, KVKs etc.), setting up of norms for institutional finance for aquaculture and refinance to banks by NABARD, provision of adequate credit by financial institutions, etc. Although India has vast freshwater resources in the form of ponds and tanks (2.35 million ha), reservoirs (3.15 million ha), lakes and derelict water bodies (1.3 million ha), rivers and canals (1,97,024 km), low lying waterlogged areas etc., these are not fully exploited except for culture of carps in a limited scale. Composite fish culture of Indian Major Carps i.e. Catla, Rohu and Mrigal has become very popular in large number of tanks and ponds in the country. After the setback to brackish water shrimp farming in mid nineties and consequent regulations on expansion and intensification of the activity, farmers in both coastal and land locked States have gone for large scale farming of Giant Freshwater Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) popularly called "Scampi" which is having high demand in both domestic and international markets. In order to meet the raw material requirement of large number of processing units established for export and also to meet the domestic demand, there is urgent need for promotion of sustainable production of Scampi in vast untapped fresh water resources of the country to ensure livelihood to poor people in rural areas and also the much needed food security. Scampi is indigenous in the whole of the South and Southeast Asian countries as well as in Northern Oceania and in Western Pacific Islands. Among all the fresh water prawns, Scampi grows faster and is the largest known species. The major producers of Scampi in the world are China, India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Thailand, Taiwan, Ecuador and Malaysia. Scampi is found in all the major rivers and lakes, which are connected to the sea. In the natural habitat, it grows to a maximum size of 750 gram. 2 Scope for Fresh Water Prawn Farming

The capture of shrimp from marine resources has dwindled over the years due various reasons viz:- large size of fishing fleet, inadequate conservation and management measures, pollution

etc. The farming of tiger shrimp in coastal brackish water areas has come down and now limited areas are being taken up with low stocking density, feeding and crop holidays. Further, of late, the international price fluctuations of tiger shrimp has also enlarged the scope for Scampi farming, which is less vulnerable to disease and price fluctuations unlike tiger shrimp. Thus considering the high export potential and domestic demand, the Giant Fresh Water Prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) "Scampi", enjoys immense potential for culture in India. Over 5.5 million ha of impounded freshwater bodies in various States of India, offer great potential for culture of Scampi. The commercial farming of Scampi started in 1999. It is now farmed in all the coastal states and also in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Tripura due to standardisation of seed production technology. The leading states in terms of area under production and productivity for Scampi are Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala and West Bengal. The state of Andhra Pradesh accounts for more than 50 per cent of the cultured Scampi production and also in terms of area under culture. Being a hardy and fast growing species among the fresh water prawns, Scampi is suitable for culture in all types of fresh water and also in low saline water bodies. It can be cultivated through monoculture in existing as well as new ponds or with compatible freshwater fishes in existing ponds. The EEC countries, UAE, Japan, Canada, USA are the major markets for Scampi in frozen, IQF forms etc. Since the world market for Scampi is expanding with very high and constant prices compared to tiger shrimp, there is great scope for increasing Scampi production and export. 3 Technical Requirements The Giant Freshwater Prawn "Scampi" is suitable for cultivation in tropical and subtropical climates. It accepts supplementary pelleted feed readily. In the natural environment, lower reaches of rivers, tidal inlets, where water is directly or indirectly connected with sea are their preferred habitat, specially during spawning. The breeding takes place in low saline estuarine water, which is also needed for larval and post larval development after incubation. A large number of Scampi hatcheries for supply of seed (post larvae) is established in many states viz: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamilnadu, Orissa etc. Even, many shrimp hatcheries in coastal states have diversified into production of Scampi seeds due to less demand for tiger shrimp seed. The technical requirements for establishment of fresh water prawn farm and its successful operation are briefly described in the following paragraphs. The parameters are averaged out and the costs are only illustrative. 3.1 Site Selection

Careful selection of suitable site for fresh water prawn farming is an essential pre-requisite for successful farming operation. The site selection plays an important role as the entire management aspect of the farm ultimately depends on specific conditions of the site. The aspects to be considered for site selection are climatic conditions (temperature, quantum and seasonality of rainfall, evaporation, sunlight, wind speed etc.), soil type, availability of water, approach roads etc. The area should be free from pollution and flooding. Flat or slight sloping lands are the most ideal sites. Low-lying lands, waterlogged areas, salinity and alkalinity affected areas could be effectively used for construction of Scampi farms. Other considerations like drainage facility, availability of skilled and unskilled manpower, electric power supply etc. have also to be taken into account while selecting a suitable site.

3.2

Soil Quality

The ideal soil for Scampi farming should be clay silt mixture or sandy loam comprising of 60 per cent sand and 40 per cent silt with good water retention capacity. Acid sulphate soils should be avoided for freshwater prawn farming. The detailed optimal soil quality parameters required for fresh water prawn farming are given in Annexure I. 3.3 Water Quality

The availability of quality and quantity of water is a critical factor in selection of suitable site. There should be abundant and good quality water available at the farm site. The water should be free from any kind of pollution. The pH of water should be of 7.0 to 8.5. The water temperature should range from 18 0C to 34 0C, with an optimum range of 28 0C to 31 0C. Dissolved oxygen content of water should be 3 to 7 ppm. The detailed optimal water quality parameters required for fresh water prawn farming are given in Annexure I. 3.4 Pond Construction

Rectangular ponds are suitable from the harvesting point of view. A convenient width of pond is 30 m, whereas length of the pond depends on site, topography and farm layout. Normally, a pond size of 0.2 to 0.6 ha is suitable. The average depth of the pond should be 0.9 m, with a minimum of 0.75 m and a maximum of 1.2 m. The information on maximum water level during flood and minimum water level during drought in the area surrounding the proposed farm site may be required to decide the height of the bund and depth of excavation. The internal and external slopes of the bunds may be kept atleast 2.5 :1. Bunds must have a freeboard of at least 60 cm above the highest water level in the pond. The top width of bunds should be minimum of 1 m. The bottoms of grow-out ponds needs to be sloped towards the drainage point. The drainage system should be designed carefully to prevent mixing of outlet water with incoming water. Designing and layout of the farms may also be done keeping in view the water intake and water outlet facilities. 3.5 Water Supply and Drainage

Appropriate water supply and drainage systems have to be designed keeping in view the water source and topography of the area. The ponds constructed should be easy to drain out the water. Ground water is preferable for filling the ponds as it is free from pollution but it should be supplied to ponds above water level for improving oxygen content. In case, canal water to be used is free from pollution, due care should be taken to provide adequate micro filters for removing the eggs and larvae of fishes especially omnipresent Tilapia spp. A tubewell of suitable depth and pumping system is required for periodic water supply into the pond/exchange of water. Water relpenishment/exchange on weekly or fortnightly basis as required is desirable and provisions are to be made accordingly.

Farm Management

The type of pond preparation to be adopted before stocking is based on the type of culture and it's intensity and nature of the culture pond. The pond bed should be dried for minimum of 10 days, limed, ploughed thoroughly for removing the harmful gases, killing of parasites etc. Liming increases the availability of soil nutrients and also neutralises the pH of soil. Liming of the pond assumes great importance in Scampi culture than in the case of freshwater fish culture. The application of fertilisers is restricted in case pelleted feed is used. However, occasionally cattle dung, single super phosphate, urea etc. can be applied on assessing the productivity. The stocking density normally varies from 4,000 to 50,000 nos. of post larvae per ha depending on the type and intensity of the management practices. The culture system may be monoculture or polyculture with carps. In monoculture ponds, average water depth of 0.9 m is maintained. In case of polyculture with carps, the pond depth is preferred at 4 to 5 feet. In case of polyculture, the stocking density of prawn may vary from 2,500 to 20,000 post larvae per ha and the surface feeding carp fingerlings may be of the order of 250 to 5000 nos. per ha. The post larvae obtained from hatchery may be grown to juvenile stage in a separate nursery pond for a period of 45 to 60 days till they attain 40 to 50 mm or 1-3 gram. With separate nursery rearing facility, juveniles can be graded sex and size wise and cultured separately in grow-out ponds for maximising production. The post larvae may also be stocked directly in grow-out ponds. In order to get desired production, feeding with formulated feed, regular fresh water replenishment, water quality monitoring specially pH, dissolved oxygen and hardness, control of excess algal bloom, periodic monitoring of feeding behaviour should be continued. Feed is a critical and important input in fresh water prawn farming. The quality and type of feed is based on culture system. Scampi with its omnivorous feeding habit can make use of a variety of feeds from common wet feed made from rice bran and oil cake to scientifically formulated pelleted feed. The frequency of feeding may be atleast 2 to 3 times a day i.e. morning and evening. The rate of feeding is determined by the stage of growth of prawn, water quality, density of stock and other manuring practices. For nursery phase, the starter feed as given in Tiger shrimp is provided. Generally the feeding rate is higher the per cent of body weight during the nursery phase to as low 2 to 5 per cent of the body weight during grow-out phase. The feeding may be reduced during molting stage as animals take less food. Hide outs like earthen pipes, palm/coconut leave bunches may be provided in different locations of ponds to reduce cannibalism. The sampling of population in grow-out ponds is required to arrive at the daily quantum of feed. The duration of culture varies from 6 to 12 months depending on the type of culture practice. Generally, the culture period may be 6 to 8 months under monoculture and 8 to 12 months under polyculture. The average growth of prawn may range from 50 to 200 g depending on the duration, density, water quality, feeding etc. The survival rate may range 70 to 80 per cent depending on the management practices. In caseof Scampi, male animals show uneven growth which is known as Heterogeneous Individual Growth (HIG). There are three different sizes of males in a population during culture. The smallest and first stage of male is called "small male" (SM) having short, nearly translucent

claws. These small males grow into second stage called "orange claws" (OC), which have large orange claws. OC males later may transform into the third and final stage, the "blue claw" (BC) males. The blue claw males are required to be harvested periodically as the presence of blueclaw males inhibits the growth of smaller males, and delays the development of OC males into blue-claws. The management of size variations of males is an important aspect of Scampi culture. For optimum production, the females and males may be cultured in separate ponds after nursery phase as the blue clawed males are required to be culled periodically from the grow-out pond. In case of both male and female prawns to be grown in the same pond, the stocking density of females may be controlled and large size blue clawed males are culled regularly to reduce the problem of HIG and to get higher production. 5 Extension Services

The borrower should have experience in fish farming or receive training on practical aspects of fresh water prawn farming from State/Central Govt. agencies and should be conversant with production technology, trade etc. Fish Farmers Development Agencies (FFDAs) are established in the districts for providing necessary training on fish farming including scampi farming. The offices of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in most of the coastal States also provide necessary training and technical assistance. NFDB also provides training to the prospective entrepreneurs through the Fisheries Dept. of the concerned State Government. The required training on fresh water prawn farming is also being provided by ICAR Institutes and KVKs. 6 Marketing

There is good demand for Scampi in both local and international markets, as such there may not be any problem in marketing the same. The prawns can be sold directly by the farmers either in the domestic markets or to exporters for international market . 7 Financial Outlay

Details of the financial outlay including the capital and operational cost requirements have been indicated in Annexure II & IIA. It can be seen there from that the capital cost for a 1 ha unit of Scampi with monoculture has been estimated at Rs. 1.852 lakh, while the operational cost for one crop under monoculture works out to Rs.1.475 lakh. The operational cost under polyculture with Catla works out to Rs. 1.356 lakh. The items and cost indicated under the models are indicative and not exhaustive. While preparing projects for financial assistance, the costs have to be assessed taking into account actual field conditions. 8 Margin money and Bank loan

The entrepreneur is expected to bring margin money out of his own resources. The minimum rates of margin money stipulated are 5 per cent for small farmer, 10 per cent for medium farmer and 15 per cent for other farmers. For corporate borrowers the margin stipulated is 25 per cent.

Techno Ecomomic Parameters

The following assumptions have been made for working out the financial viability of the project.

Particulars Sl. No. i ii iii iv v vi vii viii Farm size Culture period Stocking density of post larvae (nos.) Survival in nursery phase Survival in grow-out phase Feed Conversion Ratio Expected production Average farm gate price of Scampi/Fish

Monoculture Model 1 ha 6-8 months 50,000 60 per cent 75 per cent 1.35 1125 kg/ha/crop Rs. 200.00 per kg head-on

Polyculture Model 1 ha 8 months 42,500 Scampi and 500 yearlings of Catla 60 per cent 75 per cent for scampi and 90% for catla yearlings 1.28 950 kg Scampi and 540 kg Catla per ha per crop Rs. 200.00 per kg head-on for Scampi & Rs. 45.00 per kg for fish

10.

Financial Analysis

The detailed financial analysis has been shown in Annexure I1 & II A for mono and polyculture models, respectively. The results of the analysis are as under:Sl. No. Particulars i ii iii NPW at 15 % Discounting Factor BCR at 15 % Discounting Factor IRR Monoculture Model Rs. 1.322 lakh 1.17 above50 % Polyculture Model Rs.1.385 lakh 1.19 Above 50 %

11. Lending Terms & Conditions 11.1 Security

Security from the ultimate beneficiaries may be obtained as per the guidelines of RBI, issued

from time to time. 11.2 Rate of Interest

Interest rate to be charged on the borrower would be as indicated by Bank/RBI/NABARD from time to time. 11.3 Rate of Refinance NABARD provides refinance assistance for freshwater prawn farming to commercial banks, cooperative banks and Regional Rural Banks. The rate of refinance is fixed by NABARD from time to time based on the market conditions. 11.4 Repayment Period

The borrower will be able to repay the bank loan in 9 years (Annex I1 & 11A) with a grace period of one year on repayment of the principal.

12.

Conclusion

Scampi Farming with monoculture and polyculture is technically feasible and financially viable. Banks may extend financial assistance for setting up of such units considering the local situation.

Annexure I Optimal soil and water quality requirements for Fresh water Prawn Culture

Soil

Parameter Soil type pH Organic Carbon Available phosphorous Available nitrogen Available potassium

Range Sandy loam/Sandy clay 6.5 - 7.0 1 - 1.5 per cent 3 - 6 mg/100 g soil 25 - 50 mg/ 100 g soil 1-2 per cent 28 -31 0C 7 .0 - 8.5 3 - 7 ppm

Water

Temperature pH Dissolved Oxygen

Salinity Total Hardness (CaCO3 ) Colour Transparency Iron Hydrogen Sulphide

< 10 ppt 30 - 150 ppm Light green 30 - 35 cm < 2.00 ppm below detectable limits