A team of researchers from Patuakhali Science and Technology University has succeeded in farming coral, as seabass is known locally, commercially in ponds and tanks in Patuakhali and other coastal areas. The valuable fish can now be farmed using seaweed and artificial feed, a technology that fisheries experts say will open new opportunities for fish farming in the south.
Why feed was the problem
Coral has long been farmed in enclosures in coastal Bangladesh, but because it is carnivorous, farmers feed it various small fish, and the lack of artificial feed kept the method from spreading. Under the Department of Fisheries' Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project, the university's aquaculture department launched a sub-project, "Coral farming with artificial feed incorporating seaweed in coastal Bangladesh", with research in Alipur, Kalapara upazila, Patuakhali.
The research
Principal researcher Prof. Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzak said the study determined how much seaweed artificial feed should contain for the best growth in farmers' ponds. Fish were fed artificial feed with 0 to 20 percent seaweed, and feed with 10 percent seaweed gave the highest production.
Dr. Md. Shariful Azam, sub-project director of the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project, said Bangladesh has no coral hatchery, so fry produced in Thai hatcheries were used. They were raised in nursery ponds and then stocked in grow-out ponds. Because coral are carnivorous, the largest fry are periodically separated with nets. In nursery ponds, the fry are fed artificial feed containing 50 percent protein with seaweed, at 20 to 8 percent of body weight, and the fish are fed four to six times a day.
Prospects
Coastal fish farmers are pleased with the results in farmers' ponds and hope to profit because coral fetches high prices. Coral is rich in high-quality protein, which helps build muscle, repair damaged cells and produce hormones, and is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. The research found that each fish can reach 3.5 to 4 kg in a year.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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