The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The National Research and Development Center for Aquaculture (NRDCA) in Gelephu, the apical technical aquacultural organization in Bhutan, has initiated on-station research on carp culture with the Rohu (Labeo rohita) and Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala) species.
According to the centre’s Livestock Protection Officer, Drukpola, the objective of the research is to enable the stunted fingerlings of the 9 months old species to attain an individual harvest weight of 0.65 kg in six months. The research beginning on 30th March, 2017 and expected to be completed on 30th September, 2017 is a 6 month long activity
He said that due to the availability of live input (fingerlings), the present research focuses on the stunted fingerlings of Rohu and Mrigal. “As time passes, we will also try with other carp species which will ensure that Bhutan’s fish farmers reap the maximum benefits from culturing them under Bhutanese environmental conditions,” he said. A similar research on farm will also be conducted.
The main variable across the treatments in the current research is the stocking density (fingerlings/unit water surface area). All other management aspects such as feeding, manuring, fertilization and liming are the same for all treatment pond.
“Incidentally, this is the first ever formal and scientific investigation conducted into the growth performance of carps in Bhutan by a government research organization. The NRDCA aims to conduct several more researches to fill the aquaculture knowledge gap in Bhutan,” he said.
