GROWTH AND SURVIVAL OF ASIAN SEA BASS Lates calcarifer (BLOCH, 1790) CULTURED IN SEA CAGES AT GULF OF MANNAR AND PALK BAY
Asian sea bass Lates calcarifer is a euryhaline carnivorous fish which can be a potential candidate species for the sea cage farming. Sea cage farming is an alternate livelihood activity being carried out by the fishermen in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay region. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the growth and survival of Asian Sea bass Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790) cultured in sea cages at Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. A total of 5400 numbers of Sea bass fingerlings were collected from the wild and transported to CMFRI nursery facility at Mandapam till they attained the stockable size. The fingerlings were stocked in six cages (three each in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay) of 6 m diameter with a net-cage depth of 4 m. The stocking density was 8 Nos. per m3 with the average initial body weight of 23 g. The feeding was carried out with low value fishes @ 8-10% of biomass up to 90 days of culture and 5-8% thereafter. Periodic samplings were carried out to assess the growth rate. The farming was carried out for a period of 9 months.
The final growth in terms of mean length and body weight were 48.06 ± 0.59 cm and 1643.64 ± 44.12 g, respectively in Gulf of Mannar and 50.56 ± 0.66 cm and 1771.58 ± 49.36, respectively in Palk Bay. A total harvest of 3.3 and 3.7 tons of fish with a mean survival of 72.5 and 77.3 per cent were obtained in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, respectively.
