Feeds for Artisanal Shrimp Culture in India. Their Development and Evaluation - BOBP/REP/52

Abstract

In 1989, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) approached the UK Government-funded Post-Harvest Fisheries Project of the FAO’s Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), based in Madras, for assistance in the formulation, manufacture and feeding trial evaluation of feeds for the artisanal culture of shrimp in India. This report presents the findings of a collaborative programme conducted during 1989-91. It has been prepared in the hope that it will further stimulate the development of lo cal shrimp feed manufacture and the artisanal shrimp culture industry in India. The case study is not, therefore, a reference text on the subject of shrimp feed production and evaluation, but a distillation of field experiences and results upon which new research and farm studies can be based. The report describes the Indian shrimp culture industry, the principles and practices used within the project for the formulation of shrimp feeds, the principles and practices of pond environment asse ssment, feed manufacture and feed evaluation by feeding trial, a financial appraisal of the feeding trials and recommendations for further studies.