Raj Fisheries newsletter

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Raj Fisheries Newsletter (Devoted to Fisheries Education and Awareness)

This issue of the newsletter is reaching you after a big gap due to various reasons. Corona pandemic is one of these. Efforts are being made to request competent people to share their ideas in the form of suitable articles for the benefit of readers. As regards the frequency of publication of this newsletter attempt will be made to publish this newsletter after every 3 months depending on the inputs received from the members. Indeed lots of positive activities are taking place in the field of Inland fisheries and aquaculture in our state but due to the communication gap suitable inputs in the form of news items are not available. To cite an example, large-scale shrimp farming activities are being taken up by the initiative of fish farmers in a big way. Shrimp farming is becoming a popular enterprise in certain parts of Western Rajasthan. Obviously, with proper scientific management and technical support, this activity may attain new heights in the state of Rajasthan. Recently Rajasthan has declared a butterfly of the state however, so far ‘State Fish’ of Rajasthan has not been declared despite our repeated request to the state fisheries department.We will continue to pursue this matter.One positive development has occurred recently that College of Fisheries has received accredation of ICAR after rigrous online assessment. Entire team of teaching faculty,subordinate staff and students of the college deserve appreciation for the painstaking tireless efforts under the leadership of honourable Vice Chancellor Dr N.S.Rathore for this success.Our appreciation also goes to Dr B.K.Sharma, Dean of Fisheries College for this achievement. .Prof.(Dr) L.L.Sharma,(Ex Dean College of Fisheries,

MPUAT) Editor

Dr V.K.Unnithan memorial lecture‘Reservoirs are Sleeping Giants’ -Dr V.V.Sugunan On the eve of Republic Day Rajfisheries Group organized a memorial lecture on the topic "Reservoir fisheries- through the lens of Blue revolution" was organized on the occasion of the 71st birth anniversary of noted fisheries scientist late Dr. V.K.Unnithan. This memorial lecture was organized on Tuesday 25th January at 5 pm and addressed by Dr V.V.Sugunan as the Chief Guest of the online event.

Newsletter -2 (1) , April,2022

The group's convener and program coordinator Dr. L.L. Sharma, former Dean of Fisheries College paid homage to Dr. Unnithan on behalf of all the participants. Former Deputy Director General (Fisheries), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and former Director of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore,Dr.V.V. Sugunan delivered the first Dr. Unnithan Memorial Lecture.

Throwing light on the present condition of the Indian reservoirs, he said that in a drought-affected state like Rajasthan, importance has been given to water conservation since centuries ago. The importance of water conservation is fully associated with the local culture here. Dr. Sugunan said that while stagnation is being observed in marine fisheries over the last decade in terms of production and resources, there is a continuous increase in inland fish production. In the total fish production of the country, the production of fisheries and captured fish from reservoirs has increased in recent years, In total 2,441 large, medium, and small reservoirs in Rajasthan, and at present 4,00,519 hectare of water area is available for fish farming at full tank level. On the basis of the available fish feed and water productivity in this huge water resource by scientifically harvesting and managing a suitable number of fish seeds, the fish production of the state can be increased tremendously. With this, in order to increase the fish production announced by the Honorable Prime Minister, more rapid steps can be taken towards the Blue Revolution, in which a provision of about Rs 3000 crore has been made for fisheries development.

Terming the reservoirs as 'sleeping giants', he said that with the high potential of lake and reservoir fisheries in the country, fish production can be increased to 10 lakh tonnes in a sustainable manner without spending any extra amount, and without the need for additional water and land. Following such strategy a large number of jobs can also be created. He also discussed in detail the various difficulties and solutions of reservoir fisheries. Dr. N. C. Ujjania, Prof. Veer Narbad South Gujarat University introduced Dr. Sugunan as the chief Guest and main speaker of this programme.

At the beginning of the program Dr. K.A. Varghese, former Head of Agriculture Statistics(RCA), highlighted the significant Research contributions made by Dr. V.K. Unnithan while working in ICAR. Prior to this, Dr. BK Sharma, Dean of Fisheries College welcomed the

3 guests. Program coordinator Dr L L Sharma paid humble tribute to Dr. Unnithan in his welcome address and shared his experiences with him. Dr. Sharma refreshed his old memories with Dr. Unnithan by sharing pictures of important moments of his academic carrear through power point. Dr. Unnithan's son Mr. Arvind also expressed his views by joining the program from Australia. Dr. V.S. Durve, the eminent Fisheries Scientist and former Head of the Department of Limnology and Fisheries while presiding the program remembered Dr. Unnithan and said that Dr. Unnithan, was the first research student, who did his PhD and research work under his guidance. The special guest of the program, Dr. George John, Former Advisor, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, recalled his friendly and professional days spent with Dr. Unnithan and shared his experiences in heart touching manner.. The other special guest was the former Vice-Chancellor of Kota University, Prof.

Madhu Sudan Sharma who paid tribute to Dr. Unnithan who was his intimate friend and they had done PhD research together. He told that he was a multifaceted talented gentle person who was always ready to help others. He made a very important contribution in the field of fisheries. The program was conducted by Dr L.L. Sharma, former Dean of Fisheries College, and programme was concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Subodh Sharma, former Dean of Fisheries College. More than a hundred officers, academicians, and students participated in this program. Among them were Dr. Vimal Sharma, former Dean of Fisheries College, Dr. Dilip Kumar, former Director, CIFE, Dr. Purshottam,former PS(CIFE), Dr. Sudhir Raizada, former Deputy Director General of Fisheries(ICAR), Prof. S.L. Chobisa, Smt. Usha Unnithan & daughter Arsha, Dr. S.M. Jain, Mr. Manoj Bhatnagar, Dr. Ashwini Sharma, Dr. M.C. Gupta, Dr. R. Venugopal, Dr. Niranjan Sarang, former officers of the State Fisheries Department, Shri C.S. Chaudhary, Ex JD, Shri Arun Purohit,Ex Dy Director, Shri Anil Joshi, AD and former and present students of fisheries witnessed the event from different parts of country.

An Overview of Bivalve Mollusc Resources Status and Management Introduction The phylum Mollusca dominantly constitutes a group of benthic macrofauna belonging to seven classes such as Aplacophora, Gastropoda, Monoplacophora, Bivalvia, Polyplacophora, Cephalopoda and Scaphopoda (MolluscaBase, 2021). In India, 5169 mollusc species have been recorded, representing around seven percent of the total global molluscan diversity (MoEF, 2014). A total of 5070 species have been reported, out of which 3400 marine species (Tripathy and Mukhopadhyay, 2015). Molluscs production is also economically relevant as global aquaculture production of 17.51 million tonnes, out of

these 17.30 million tonnes from marine and coastal aquaculture in 2018 (FAO, 2020).

The commercially important bivalves along the Indian coast include clams, mussels and oysters. Except for pearl oysters, bivalves have been fished either for meat or shell. Bivalves are living with corals and are commonly found in crypts within massive corals (Souji et al., 2014). Bivalve shells provide a great opportunity to the fishermen's families in India for their income and livelihood. They play an important role in coastal ecosystems since they perform nutrient cycling, filter organic matters, and plankton suspended in water and protein food play a significant role in enriching the unbalanced diet of the coastal populations (Broom, 1985).

Bivalves are perhaps the least managed resource along the Indian coast. In most maritime states the effort for fishing bivalves can be enhanced.

Over-exploitation of bivalves and sustained freshwater flows from the hydel projects are expected to have adverse consequences on bivalve resources (Ramachandra, et al., 2012). One of the major drawbacks in the management of the bivalve fishery is that there is no mechanism for proper collection of data on the fishery landings. Building up a proper database on the resource availability and utilization pattern is essential (Kripa and Appukuttan, 2003).

Global status of bivalve mollusc The rapid growth of the bivalve mollusc production industry during the last six decades, with production growing from almost one million tonnes in 1950 to 17.5 million tonnes in 2018 (FAO, 2020). Aquaculture fish production was dominated by finfish (54.3 million tonnes) followed by molluscs as mainly bivalves (17.7 million tonnes, USD 34.6 billion), crustaceans (9.4 million tonnes, USD 69.3 billion), marine invertebrates (435400 tonnes, USD 2 billion), aquatic turtles (370000 tonnes, USD 3.5 billion), and frogs (131300 tonnes, USD 997 million) in 2018 (FAO, 2020).

Indian status of bivalve molluscs Along the Indian coast molluscs production was estimated at 1,32,531 tonnes out of these 2782 tonnes of bivalves group has contributed in 2018. The fishery was dominated by clams fishery contributing 76.3% to the annual bivalve production followed by mussels, 15.3%, and oysters, 8.4% in 2018 (CMFRI, 2019); while in 2020 contribution was 89.5% by clams followed by oysters (8.2%) and mussels (2.3%) (CMFRI, 2020).

Significance of bivalve molluscs Responsible aquaculture production of bivalves has a positive environmental impact and significant nutritional benefits, in particular in terms of providing micronutrients. The sustained high prices for bivalves have catalyzed the expansion of the bivalve aquaculture industry in various regions.

The shells of bivalves, such as mussels and oysters, can be turned into calcium carbonate or calcium oxide,

4 two highly versatile chemical compounds with wide industrial applications. Other uses for shells include their transformation into cosmetics and traditional medicines (pearl powder), calcium supplement in animal feed (shell powder), handicrafts, and jewelry (FAO, 2020). As the production and processing of crustaceans and bivalves have increased, efficient use of their shells has become important, not only to maximize financial return but also to address waste disposal problems because of their slow natural degradation rate (FAO, 2018).

Pearl productions are now utilized for aquaculture-effluent treatment on individual farms as well as under communal-setting clustering of several farms (FAO, 2020). Bivalves are an important category of by-products. Their efficient utilization is important due to the high volumes being generated linked to their increased production and processing, and the slow natural degradation rate of shells (FAO, 2016).

Bivalves, filter-feeding organisms that extract organic matter from water for growth, and seaweeds, which grow by photosynthesis by absorbing dissolved nutrients, are sometimes described as extractive species. When farmed in the same area with fed species, they benefit the environment by removing waste materials, including waste from fed species, thus lowering the nutrient load. The culture of extractive species with fed species in the same mariculture sites is encouraged in aquaculture development planning and zoning exercises in the European Union and North America (FAO, 2020).

Mussel shells provide calcium carbonate for industrial use. In some countries, oyster shells are used as a raw material in building construction and quicklime (calcium oxide) production. Scallop and mussel shells are used in handicrafts and jewellery, and for making buttons (FAO, 2018).

Ecological role Bivalve organisms are filter feeder animals They are a valuable fisheries in various parts of the India which providing shells for quality-calcium preparation, food for human consumption, pearls for jewelry.

They are also a rich source of bioactive compounds which are using in medicinal preparations.

They play a significant role as a blue carbon initiatives on farms of aquaculture, nutrient remediation, and feed-shrimp etc.

This fishery contribute to the income and livelihoods opportunity to fishermen population in India waters.

Exploitation of bivalve methods Exploitation of bivalves resources are simple, using non-mechanized gear ranging from manual picking to hand operated dredges and others like digging, snorkelling, trawling and scuba diving. This fishery is mainly during low tide by local fishermen and who collect them in net bags tied around their waist usually the maximum collections are made on new moon and full moon days when the bivalve beds are fully exposed (Alagarswami and Narasimham, 1973).

Exploitation methods are different where different types of craft and gears are used as in Kerala the demand for clams increased thus the local fishermen started operating hand dredges which have increased the catch per unit. In Vembanad Lake, a new fishing method is tracked wherein mechanized boats tow several canoes to the fishing site to reduce the effort of the fishermen to reach the site. In Kakinada Bay, a special type of craft such as Shoe Dhone is used in which the entire family lives during a fishing trip that extends for 3 to 4 consecutive days. The Plank-built non-powered boats are deployed for the transport of bivalve resources. The hand-operated dredges from a dugout canoe method of collection are widely practiced in Ashtamudi Lake (Appukuttan et al., 1987).

Management Strategies Bivalves offer one of the important examples of resource management along the Indian coast. One of the major bivalve resources, the short-neck clam (Paphia malabarica) is well protected by the following regulations formulated by the Government of Kerala based on recommendations made by CMFRI. a) Ban on fishing activity during the breeding season (September to February), b) Use of gears with 30 mm mesh size to avoid exploitation of smaller clams, c) Restrict the grade of export of frozen clams meat to 1400 nos/kg and above and d) Initiate semi-culture or relaying of small clams.

One of the major drawbacks in bivalve fishery management is that there is no proper data collection system on the fishery landings. Overall Mollusca resources were unaccounted in fish production in the country (Alagarswami, and Meiyappan, 1987). For management where a proper database on the resource availability and their utilization pattern is essential (Mohamed, et al., 2013). Bivalve resources are perhaps the least managed resource along the Indian coast. In most maritime states the effort for fishing bivalves can be enhanced. Apart from the restriction on the pearl oyster fishery by the Government of Tamil Nadu and the management measures on the short neck clam fishery of Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala, there are no regulations for effective utilization and conservation of these resources.

Here the fishers are aware of the advantages derived from practicing the management measures and willingly stock seeds obtained during fishing for further growth. Similarly, the sea ranching of pearl oysters spat in the pearl beds has helped to repopulate the stock to a certain extent. However, more effective measures are required to attain a productive level.

How to raise the bivalve resources Regular monitoring of the fisheries characteristics of the bivalves at important production centers is to be taken up.

Stock assessment studies and programme on bivalve seed ranching in the mainland needs to be intensified and for endangered species have considerable potential for development.

5 Deep studies on biology and also to the development of bivalve seed production hatchery technology, leading to sea ranching for endangered species, should receive priority.

In India, the waters domestic market for bivalve shellfish is limited as they are not conventionally eaten.

Product development and extension work are required to expand the domestic market and for foreign markets are to be explored.

References ● Alagarswami, K., Meiyappan, M.M., 1987.

Prospects and problems of management and development of the marine molluscan resources (other than cephalopods) in India. In CMFRI Bulletin National Symposium on Research and Development in Marine Fisheries Sessions I & II,44(1), 250-261). CMFRI; Kochi. ● Alagarswami, K., Narasimham, K.A., 1973. Clam, cockle and oyster resources of the Indian coasts.

Proceedings of the Symposium on the Living Resources of the Seas around India, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, India.

648-658. ● Appukuttan, K.K., Mathew, Joseph, Thomas, K.J., 1987. Larval rearing and spat production of the brown mussel Perna indica Kuriakose and Nair at Vizhinjam, southwest coast of India. Nat. Sem. Shellfish Res. Farming, Tuticorin. CMFRI Bull. 42 (pt. II), 337–343. ● Broom, M.J., 1985. The biology and culture of marine bivalve molluscs of the genus Anadara, WorldFish. ● CMFRI, 2020. Annual Report 2019. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi. 284 p. ● CMFRI, 2019.

Annual Report 2018-19.

ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala, India. 320 pp. ● FAO, 2016. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2016. Contributing to food security and nutrition for all. Rome. ● FAO, 2020. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture. Sustainability in action. Rome. ● FAO, 2018. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Meeting the sustainable development goals. Rome. ● Kripa, V., Appukuttan, K.K., 2003. Marine bivalves.

Publisher CMFRI, In: Mohan Joseph, M., Jayaprakash, A.A., (Eds.). Status of Exploited Marine Fishery Resources of India. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute of India. CMFRI, 211-220. ● MoEF, 2014. India's fifth national report to the convention on biological diversity. Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi, 100 p. ● MolluscaBase eds. 2021. MolluscaBase. Accessed at http://www.molluscabase.org on 2021-09-18. doi:10.14284/448. ● Souji, S. Radhakrishnan, T., 2015. New report and taxonomic comparison of Anadara and Tegillarca species of Arcidae (Bivalvia: Arcoida) from

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southern coast of India. Int. J. Sci. Res. 4, 1817-1824.

Tripathy, B., Mukhopadhyay, A.K., 2015. Marine molluscan diversity in India. In Marine Faunal Diversity in India. Acad. Press. pp. 39-74

Fishes of Rajasthan: Stinging Catfish Heteropneustes fossilis: a native candidate species for aquaculture in Rajasthan The

stinging

catfish,

Heteropneustes fossilis is commonly known as Singhi.

It belongs to the family

Heteropneustidae of the order Siluriformes.It is a freshwater air-breathing catfish that is able to survive in oxygen-depleted waters as well due to the presence of sac-like pharyngeal lungs as accessory respiratory organs. It has a very sharp pectoral spine, which can make the painful wound, that’s why handling should be proper. It has four pairs of barbels. It is an omnivore fish that thrives in all kinds of shallow freshwater habitats. It breeds in confined waters during the monsoon season. It can even be reared at extremely high stocking density. The fish fetches a high price due to fewer spines in the flesh, less fat, and good digestibility.

H. fossilis is considered an ideal fish species for aquaculture due to its fast growth, tolerance to high stocking densities, high market value, and ability to survive in oxygen-low waters. Singhi attains maturity at the age of one year (almost150-200g) and is a monsoon breeder. The female is generally larger than the male in size and has a soft swollen abdomen with a shorter and blunt papilla. Mature and healthy females and males in the ratio of 1:1 (by weight)can be used for spawning by administration of intramuscular injection of synthetic hormone-like ovaprim or Gonopro (0.6-1.0 ml/kg body weight) or WOVA-FH as a single dose of 0.6-1 ml/ kg body weight. The conducive temperature for its spawning is 26-28oC. Hydrilla is used to create a natural environment for the brooders.

The top of the tank is covered with nylon or mosquito net. A substratum should be placed at bottom of the tank for eggs such as a perforated rubber mat. Soon after the completion of spawning, the spent parent, aquatic plant, and rubber mat should be removed from the breeding tank. Hatching takes place within 16-20 hrs and hatchlings are transparent in colour. The yolk sac absorption occurs 72-96 hours post-hatching and the larvae should be fed immediately cladocerans and rotifers. For 12 days larvae should be fed with zooplankton and ad libitum and within 20-22 days the larvae grow into fry. The species attains a marketable size within 10 months. Singhi fish can be effectively

6 cultured in low-lying areas such as unutilized swamps, marshy areas, wetlands as well as other derelict water bodies.

Recently many reports have shown that exotic catfishes pose a heavy threat to native fishes hence the Government of India put a ban on many of them e.g.,Clarias gariepinus, although farmers are willing to culture them due to favourable short-term profits.

Hence it has essential to spread awareness about native catfish culture among fishers of Rajasthan as an income generation source as well as conservation of native fish biodiversity.

Lovedeep Sharma PhD Scholar Dept. of Fisheries Resource Management KUFOS, Kerala, India

Status of Fish marketing in Sikar - Manohar Lal Arora, Ex Asst. Director Department of Fisheries Three districts - Sikar, Churu, and Jhunjhunu - are included in the "Shekhawati" region of Rajasthan.

Sikar district, which includes these three districts, is located in the north-eastern part of the state of Rajasthan. This district is surrounded by Jhunjhunu district in the north, north-east. It is surrounded by Churu district, in the south-west by Nagaur district and in the south-east by Jaipur district.

It also touches the Mahendragarh district of Haryana in its northeast corner. The area of ​Sikar district is 7742.43 Sq.km and its population as per the 2011 census is 26.77 lakhs. The old name of Sikar was "Veer Bhanka Bas".

Sikar city which comes under Municipal Council is situated on National Highway No. 11 between Bikaner and Agra. The city is well connected to Jaipur and Delhi by rail and road.

Sikar lacks perennial rivers and streams. Due to this, there is also a lack of large reservoirs and ponds for irrigation. A total of 33 water bodies have been given in the contract list of the Fisheries Department. Out of these, 2 are of A category, 6 of B category, 16 of C category, and 9 of D category. Due to the lack of water logging, their fishing contracts are also not able to be done regularly. further, there is a lack of surface water and the underground is also saline or highly saline, in many areas.

In the district, about one hundred fish farmers are engaged in fish farming in a sporadic manner by making ponds on their own land. However, due to lack

of water, these fish farmers are not getting proper benefits. It is an important fact that in comparison to Churu and Jhunjhunu districts of Shekhawati region, the trend towards fish and shrimp farming is less in Sikar district but it is noteworthy to observe that Sikar's fisheries is moving ahead in the field of pearl production. Pearl culture has been done successfully since last 10 years by a farmer namely Vinod Bharti in village Bai of Tehsil Danta Ramgarh of this district. The office of Assistant Fisheries Development Officer has been established since the year 1972 for the development, conservation and implementation of welfare schemes in Sikar district. Through Fish Farmers Development Agency, Jaipur, the fish farmers of the district are given training, water area allotment on lease for a long period with grant-in-aid.

At the time of India's independence, only a few communities in the social structure of Sikar had an attraction towards meat and meat as a food commodity. But there was no interest of the common non-vegetarians to adopt fish as food. In fact, fish was not available to consumers at that time. Almost 75 years after independence, the situation of the meat and fish trade in Sikar has remained almost the same.

The social structure of this district mainly supports a vegetarian diet. Because of this, there is no system of regular sale of fish anywhere in Sikar district except Sikar city.There is only one prominent place of the local sale of fish in Sikar city - Bisayati Chowk.

Situated between these two places, 2 km from the railway station and 2 km from the bus stand, "Bisayati Chowk" is an old populated locality. There are about a dozen pucca shops selling non-vegetarian items on this square. Out of these, meat and meat, as well as fish, are also retailed at about half a dozen shops. One among them where only fish is sold in wholesale and retail for twelve months. Meat has been sold in this square since the pre-independence period.But the sale of fish has been started around 1970.

The consumption of fish in Sikar starts increasing from the beginning of August before the winter season. This consumption remains high from the middle of October to the beginning of the month of March. Due to this, with the onset of winter, the sale of fresh fish on boards and fish pakoras, and other ready-made fish dishes increases in the "Bissayati Chowk" of Sikar.

At this place, the sale of fresh fish is done year-round with a lot of cleanliness in the pucca shops. Marketing of fish started in 1970 in "Bissaati Chowk" of Sikar, fishes were procured from Jaipur city. The packing of fish from Jaipur was brought in jute sacks with ice.

With the change of time, the Rohu and Pangas fishes

7 of Andhra made an important place in the fish market of Rajasthan. Also in packing, the place of jute sacks was replaced by thermocol boxes. With the development of of transport facilities, the movement of fish has started at a rapid pace. This change also started coming in the fish market of Sikar.

In the year 2012, the work of conversion of Jaipur-Sikar meter-gauge railway to broad gauge started. Due to this, the easy arrival of fish from Jaipur started getting hampered. To solve this problem, fishermen of "Bissayati Chowk" showed solidarity and started ordering fish from the Ghazipur fish market in Delhi by road.Although expensive, at present the procurement of fish here is being done entirely by road from Delhi.

Locally produced fishes are not marketed in the fish market of "Bissayati Chowk". The fish producers of the local water areas are not even in contact with the fish shopkeepers of this area. The fish production of the water areas of the Department of Fisheries is sold to Delhi or Jaipur markets. The fish of the same Panchayati pond and ponds built on private land are sold locally in retail.

In Sikar now fishes from Delhi are brought in air-tight boxes of thermocol 27 inches in length, 18 inches in width and 12 inches in height by putting them in ice.

There is a packing of 42-45 kg of fish in a single box.

About 40-45 air-tight coaches of thermocol are brought by road in a Matador from Delhi.

Due to less demand for fish in the summer season, only Rohu and Pangas of Andhra are sold in the fish market of "Bissayati Chowk". However, due to the increase in the number of Bengali and Bihari workers in the industrial sector, over the last two years, Rupchanda has also started being sold. Due to the high demand for fish during the winter season, along with Rohu and Pangas, Catla, Mrigal, and Common Carp are also available to the consumers in the peak period. In Rajasthan, there is a ban on selling freshwater fish during the monsoon period due to the notification of prohibition season. Therefore, during this period only sea fish is brought from Delhi and sold in this fish market. Sea fish is also sold in sufficient quantity during the winter season. The banned Thai Mangur and the rapidly spreading tilapia in Rajasthan are not sold in this fish market. in Sikar. Fortunately, these two exotic fishes have not yet entered the water areas of Sikar.

In Sikar, only 750 grams to one-kilogram weight of freshwater fish are preferred among the consumers.

For this reason, only fish of the same weight are sold

in this fish market in Sikar. In May 2022, the price of Rohu in Bisayati Chowk has been Rs 190-200 per kg.

Whereas pangas was sold at Rs 140-150 per kg.

Roopchanda also traded at Rs 170-180 per kg. There is an estimate that in this fish market of "Bissayati Chowk", the consumption of fish is about 1200 to 1500 kg per day during October to February. Whereas in the remaining period of the year i.e. summer and monsoon, the daily consumption comes down to only 200 to 500 kg.

The plan of " National Fisheries Development Board" to develop the wholesale and retail fish markets in Rajasthan is implemented for the last 10-12 years. In the year 2020, fisheries-related schemes of other central departments including this scheme have been included in "Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana".

The fish sellers can also get the benefit of the "Prime Minister Street Vendor Grant Scheme". But keeping in mind the social and political situation of the state, it is a bit difficult task to implement these attractive schemes related to the fish market not only in Sikar but in the entire Rajasthan. Funds in these schemes are arranged by the State Fisheries Department from the "National Fisheries Development Board". An adequate and abundant budget is available with this board for the establishment and development of the wholesale and retail fish market in the state. In this scheme, the responsibility of establishing fish market goes to the Municipality, Municipal Corporation, and Municipal Council. The demand of this scheme for the development of the neat and clean wholesale and retail market of the is not pursued by the public representatives of the state at a suitable level.

It is worth mentioning that in the year 2011, the Fisheries Department of Rajasthan made an effort to establish a wholesale fish market in Jaipur by arranging the necessary land from the Animal Husbandry Department on Agra Road and one crore rupees from the "National Fisheries Development Board". But due to public outrage, the state government had to shelve the plan for the wholesale fish market. Keeping this experience in mind, it can be assumed that the scope for improvement in the fish market in Rajasthan is limited.

Abstracts of new theses:Ph.D.Thesis Study on Occurrence of Microplastics in Water, Sediments and Selected Fishes off Mumbai Coast

8

Udai Ram Gurjar, PhD Scholar,Dr. K. A. Martin Xavier. MajorAdvisor(Scientist, FRHPHM Division,ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, India- 400 061 *E-mail: urgurjars968@gmail.com Microplastics (MPs) are anthropogenic pollutants that can adsorb toxic substances from surrounding water and enter the fish body. The samples were collected for accounting microplastics in water, sediments, and aquatic animals along the Mumbai coast, India, from September 2018 to March 2020. At the laboratory, collected water, sediment, fish, and shrimp samples were subjected to the preservation, measurement, dissection, digestion, filtration, visual assessment of MPs, and confirming the plastic polymers. The abundance of MPs in water and sediment samples ranged from 149-547 MPs/liter and 4400-15300 MPs/kg dry weight (DW), respectively. The mean abundance of MPs in surface water, sediments, and fishes was significantly (P<0.05) higher during the monsoon season, followed by post-monsoon. The mean numbers of MPs per individual in gastrointestinal (GI) tracts were varied from 6.74 ± 2.74 to 9.12 ± 3.17 in pelagic fishes and 5.62 ± 2.27 to 6.91 ± 2.79 in demersal fishes. MP numbers were dominant according to their size group viz. <100 µm in white sardine and oil sardine, 100-250 µm in Belanger croaker and Golden anchovy 251-500 µm in Bombay duck and Malabar sole fish. The mean abundance of MP particles per individual in shrimp species varied from 5.36 ± 2.81 to 7.40 ± 2.60. MPs size range of 100-250 µmwas dominantly recorded in the GI tracts of all studied shrimp species, surface water and coastal sediments. Shape-wise, four types of MPs were observed; among them, fibers were predominant in the surface waters, sediments and all studied shrimp and fish species, except Malabar sole fish, in which fragment was dominant. Seven different colors of microplastics (red, blue, black, translucent, brown, green, and yellow) were observed in the present study.

Based on Raman spectroscopy analysis, eleven types of plastic polymers were identified from all the samples. Thus, the presence of MPs in biota indicates chances of transfer of MPs through interlinked food chain/web to higher trophic levels. MPs in the fishes and shrimps GI tracts underline the necessity of more studies on processing interventions for reducing the microplastic contamination in fish for human consumption.

M.F.Sc. Thesis:Growth Performance of Rohu and Tilapia fingerlings with Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plant in Aquaponics

Vikas

Kumar Ujjania,M.F.Sc.Research Scholar,Dr. B.K. Sharma,(Major Advisor),Dean CoF and Head, Department of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, MPUAT, Udaipur The present research was conducted to observe the growth performance of rohu and tilapia fingerlings with tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in aquaponics.

In this experiment the fingerlings of selected fishes and tomato plants were reared for a period of 60 days and during this experiment, supplementary feed (groundnut oil cake, rice bran, wheat flour, and vitamin-mineral mixture in 40:40:19:1 ratio) was provided. The experiment was carried out in two treatments (T1 - rohu and T2 – tilapia reared with tomato plants) and 10 replications in 400 liters capacity tanks were used to maintain water aeration. The average water quality parameters including Air temperature (28.7 OC), Water temperature (27.12 OC, 26.83 OC), pH (7.5, 7.4), Dissolved oxygen (5.6 mg/l, 5.6 mg/l), Electrical conductivity (2.261 mS/cm-1, 2.256 ms/cm-1), Total hardness (611.71 mg/l, 608.92 mg/l), Total alkalinity (112.75 mg/l, 111.21 mg/l), Ammonia (0.002 mg/l, 0.001 mg/l), Nitrate (0.060 mg/l, 0.061 mg/l), and Nitrite (0.043 mg/l, 0.047 mg/l) in T1 and T2 were observed during the experimental period. On the other hand, growth parameters include length gain in T1 (1.074 cm) and T2 (0.935 cm), weight gain in T1 (8.130 gm) and in T2 (4.403 gm), specific growth rate (SGR) in T1 (1.272) and in T2 (0.845) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in T1 (3.536) and in T2 (5.002) were observed which were found satisfactory. The growth of plant was 11.880 cm. in T1 (rohu rearing tanks) and 8.886 cm. in T2 (tilapia rearing tanks) which showed that it was comparatively more in T1. According to the findings of the current study, it can be concluded that, rohu fingerlings shown better performance with tomato plant growth in an aquaponics system with an aqua-friendly rearing environment.

News from Fisheries College : PRT visited the College of Fisheries, MPUAT in online mode on 26 Oct., 2021 Subsequently,.College of Fisheries, MPUAT accreditation was done by ICAR in the month of 2021 for 5 yrs.

Convocation was held on 20 Dec., 2021. UG gold medal Awarded to Miss. Arushi Arya, B. F. Sc.and PG gold medal to Miss. Ruchika Sharma, M. F. Sc. (Aquaculture) One month Industrial Training programme on Fish processing, packaging and Marketing conducted at Sailganga EU Exports, Veraval (Gujrat) from 15/02/2022 to 16/03/2022. 23 B. F. Sc. IV Yr. Students participated in this training programme.

9 10 days Educational tour was organized for 24 B. F. Sc. III Yr. students from 9/02/2022 to 16/02/2022.

During this tour students visited fisheries installations in Gujrat.Dr S.K.Sharma(Ex Dean, CoF) and Dr M.L.Ojha,(Assoc. Prof.) accompanied the students.

29 B. F. Sc. II Yr. students participated in this training programme.

Dr Naresh Raj Keer joined as Asst.

Prof. cum Jr Scientist. Date of joining 15th March,2022.Department-Aquaculture, College & University- College of Fisheries, Kishanganj, Bihar Animal Sciences University, Patna, Bihar.

7 days Training programme on “ Skill development in Fish Genetics and Breeding” was held at College of Fisheries, MPUAT, Udaipur from 14/04/2022 to 20/04/2022 Resource Persons were Dr. Gopal Krishna,Former Vice Chancellor & Director,CIFE, Mumbai and Dr. Aparna Choudhary, Head Division of Fish Genetics & Biotechnology,ICAR, CIFE, Mumbai.

New PhD Thesis Submitted: 6 days Training programme on “Value added products and fortification of low priced fish for marketing” at College of Fisheries, MPUAT, Udaipur from 05/05/2022 to 10/05/2022 Resource Persons: Dr. B. B. Nayak, Head Division of Fish Post Harvest Technology, ICAR, CIFE, Mumbai and Dr. Amjad Balange, Principle Scientist, Division of Fish Post Harvest Technology, ICAR, CIFE, Mumbai 24 B. F. Sc. III Yr. students participated in this training programme -Dr B.K.Sharma, Dean, CoF,MPUAT, Udaipur

Achievements: Dr Niranjan Sarang, Asst. Prof., College of Fisheries,Kawardha has been assigned the position of Principal, Fisheries Polytechnic. He joined this post on 21 June,2021.

1.: Effect of Thymus linearis plant extract on growth and Non-specific immune response of Endangered golden mahseer (Tor putitora) against Omycetes Saprolegnia parasitica PhD thesis submitted by Dr Tarang Shah.

2.Effect of selected medicinal herbs on growth, immunity and metabolic response of Labeo rajasthanicus (Datta and Majumdar, 1970) PhD thesis submitted by Dr Naresh Raj Keer(Date of award- 1st September, 2021).

3.Species

Diversity, Reproductive Biology and Population Characteristics of Bivalves from the Coastal Waters of Southern Tamil Nadu by Dr Suman Takar.

4.Study on Occurrence of Microplastics in Water, Sediments and Selected Fishes off Mumbai Coast by Dr Udai Gurjar.

Dr Tarang Shah Joined as Assistant Professor, Department of Fisheries, DGCN College of Veterinary and Animal Science, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidaylya, Palampur. He joined on 28/12/2021.

Dr Suman Taker joined as Assistant Professor(Contractual),on 08/11/2021 at College of Fisheries(Dau Shri Vasudev Chandrakar Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya), Kawardha (Chhattisgarh) – 491 995.

Dr. Rohitash Yadav did his PhD degree (Division of Aquaculture) from ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai has joined as the Guest faculty at Fisheries Polytechnic, DSVCKV, Durg, Chhatisgarh.

35 Kg Catla fish from Rajadera Reservoir District Dhamtar,CG.Photo courtesy: Dr Tarang Shah

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New Books: 1. Saral Prayogik Sarovar Vigyan by M.S.Sharma and L.L. Sharma(In Press). This hindi book contains common limnological methods and brief introduction of certain equipment and freshwater organisms including aquatic plants,plankton and selected lakes.

2. Sarovar Vigyan by Deepika, Modi Kiran Piyush Bhai and Dr N. Sarang, Akinik Publications, New Delhi.This hindi publication attempted to explain basic facts on various aspects of Limnology in a simple manner.

This hindi publication is describing methodology of fish culture in a simple manner for the benefit of fish farmers.It is a training book authored

by Dr N.Sarang, Dr K.K.Chodhari and Dr H.K.Vardia.

New Research Papers: Chetan K. Garg , Parimal Sardar , Narottam P. Sahu , Manas K. Maiti , Naseemashahul Shamna , Tincy Varghese , Ashutosh D. Deo , Vungarala Harikrishna (2022).Dietary lysine requirement of genetically improved farmed tilapia (GIFT) juvenile reared in inland saline water of 10 ppt salinity. Aquaculture, 555: 738223,1-11.

Gurjar, U.R., Xavier, K.M., Shukla, S.P., Deshmukhe, G., Jaiswar, A.K. and Nayak, B.B., 2021. Incidence of microplastics in gastrointestinal tract of golden anchovy (Coiliadussumieri) from north east coast of Arabian Sea: The ecological perspective. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 169, p.112518.

Gurjar, U.R., Xavier, K.M., Shukla, S.P., Jaiswar, A.K., Deshmukhe, G. and Nayak, B.B., 2021. Microplastic pollution in coastal ecosystem off Mumbai coast, India.

Chemosphere, 288, p.132484.

Gurjar, U.R., Xavier, M., Nayak, B.B., Ramteke, K., Deshmukhe, G., Jaiswar, A.K. and Shukla, S.P., 2021.

Microplastics in shrimps: a study from the trawling grounds of north eastern part of Arabian Sea. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 48494–48504.

Gurjar, U.R.,Takar, S., Sawant, M.S., Pawar, R.A., Nirmale, V.H., Pawase, A.S., Chakraborty, S.K., Ramteke, K.K. and Kumawat, T., 2021. Preliminary observation on the sustainability of white sardine, Escualosathoracata (Valenciennes, 1847), exploited

from the central west coast of India. The Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology, 82(1), 1–7.

Kaur, R., Batra, M., Shah, T. K., & Saxena, A. (2022).

Ameliorative effects of dietary Vitamin-C on growth performance and hemato-biochemical response of sodium fluoride-intoxicated Amur Carp, Cyprinus carpio haematopterus. Aquaculture Research, 53, 2895–2909.

Omkar Sahu, Niranjan Sarang,Tameshwar, Uma,Dewati,Rohitash Yadav and Prerna Kashti(2022).Scope and cultural prospects of Crab farming in India.Agri-India TODAY,2(5),58 Ravi Kumar Patel a , A.K. Verma , K.K. Krishnani , K. Sreedharan , M.H. Chandrakant (2022) Growth performance, physio-metabolic, and haemato-biochemical status of Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) juveniles reared at varying salinity levels using inland saline groundwater.Aquaculture, 559: 738408,1-11.

S. Takar, P. Jawahar, U.R. Gurjar, S.D. Kingston, N. Neethiselvan, J.J. Pereira, I. Jagadis, 2021. Food and Feeding Habits of Wedge Clam (Donax cuneatus) Off Thoothukudi, Gulf of Mannar, India. Indian Journal of Animal Research. 1-6 (NAAS: 6.40, IF: 0.44) S. Takar, P. Jawahar, U.R. Gurjar, S.D. Kingston, N. Neethiselvan, J.J. Pereira, I. Jagadis, 2021.

Length-weight relationships of bivalve species Donax cuneatus and Meretrix casta along Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences. 1-7 (NAAS: 6.62, IF: 0.62) S. Takar, P. Jawahar, U.R. Gurjar, S.D. Kingston, N. Neethiselvan, J.J. Pereira, I. Jagadis, 2021. Food and Feeding Habits of Wedge Clam (Donax cuneatus) Off Thoothukudi, Gulf of Mannar, India. Indian Journal of Animal Research. 1-6 (NAAS: 6.40, IF: 0.44) S. Takar, P. Jawahar, U.R. Gurjar, S.D. Kingston, N. Neethiselvan, J.J. Pereira, I. Jagadis, 2021.

Length-weight relationships of bivalve species Donax cuneatus and Meretrix casta along Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India. Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences. 1-7 (NAAS: 6.62, IF: 0.62)

________________________________ Compiled and edited for Rajfisheries group for internal circulation by Dr L.L.Sharma, Prof.& Dean(Retd.), College of Fisheries, MPUAT,Udaipur) PN 207 Road 13, Ashok Nagar, Udaipur-313001 (M) 9829230343, (LL) E mail: llsharma.206@gmail.com