FEASIBILITY STUDY OF GROW OUT FARMING OF Labeo rohita FOR INLAND OPEN WATER CAGE CULTURE IN DIFFERENT TROPICAL AGRO CLIMATIC RESERVOIRS OF INDIA

Cage culture emerged as potential sector to enhance the fish production from inland open waters. However proper species selectionwhich having good market demand is need of the hour as the traditional cage cultured species, pangasius and tilapia are having least market demand in India and abroad as well. Therefore a study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility of grow out farming of rohu for cage culture in different tropical reservoirs of India.  The study was under taken at three different agro-climatic condition; Salia reservoir, Odisha, Palair reservoir, Telengana and Kamath reservoir, Maharashtra, India.The advanced fingerlings of L. rohita were collected locally as per the size availability and stocked in the cages @10 nos/m³ in three different reservoirs. The initial stocking size of L. rohita was 30.0 ± 6.24 g, 45.5 ± 7.50 g and 10.79 ± 3.54g in Salia reservoir, Palair reservoir and Kamath reservoirrespectively. After 180 days of culture the final weight of L. rohita in Salia reservoir and Palair reservoir were298.5 ± 16.23 g and 450.77 ± 32.76 g respectively. However the growth of rohu was 415.58 ± 27.62 g at Kamath reservoir after 240 days of culture. The present study was first attempt to study the grow-out farming of rohu in inland open water cage culture and the result showed possibility of incorporation of rohu in inland cage culture along with species like Pangasius and Tilapia.Further stocking density and stocking size of rohu is need to be standardized for inland cage culture.