May/June 2010 - Global Aquaculture Alliance

At larger farms, water quality is maintained by regular
water exchange.
volume is changed every 10-15 days to maintain water quality.
The ponds have low dikes and so may flood during the monsoon
season, but striped catfish, unlike other farmed species, remain
in flooded ponds.
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66 May/June 2010 global aquaculture advocate
Nursed 50-g fingerlings are stocked at 4-5/m 2 and fed commercial
pelleted feed for feed-conversion ratios of 1.7 to 1.8. The
average production is 60-70 mt/ha of 1.0- to 1.2-kg fish in 10
months, including limited growth during the cool season. Production
on small-scale farms is typically about 40 mt/ha.
Most smaller farms do not exchange water and give fish
poorer-quality feed from cottage factories or farm-made feeds
with low stability. These two factors cause poor water quality that
can lead to lesser-quality fish suitable only for the local market.
Export Potential
Large-scale striped catfish farms must export fish to survive
in the future because of unstable local market prices and the
large investment required to lease land for 10 years and construct
ponds and deep tube wells. However, the 15 to 20% return on
investment with current prices is attractive.
Striped catfish production in Vietnam, the current major
exporter of the species, is much higher at 300-400 mt/ha. But
there the ponds are 4 to 6 m deep, and the water is changed
much more frequently, entailing a higher unit production cost
than that in Bangladesh. Furthermore, both land rental and
labor costs are lower in Bangladesh than in Vietnam.
The flesh color of catfish farmed in Bangladesh is yellowish,
so the fish could only be marketed in Eastern Europe, but trials
are under way to see if flesh quality could be improved by reducing
the maize content of the feed. A fish-processing plant also
needs to be built in Mymensingh, as current plants, which process
shrimp, are mainly located in the south of the country.
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Delivering Certainty
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are adhering to rigorous production
standards—right back to the farm
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