Sobhapati Samom
IMPHAL, JULY 14: The aquarium kept at home with tiny, colourful fishs swimming tirelessly, could be converted into a factory floor as couple of endemic fish species having ornamental characters in Manipur can be bred in captive. Recently researchers in Manipur have successfully started to develop a captive-breeding technology of some of the endemic fish species.
“We’ve studied the biology of the fishes in the University. So I thought why not we develop certain (captive-breeding) technology which can be used for the economic activity in their day to day life,” said Zoology teacher in Manipur College, Dr Yurembam Motilan. “The research work for developing the technology was taken up (in between 2011-2015) at Manipur University in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra Thoubal and Central Indian Fisheries Education, Mumbai.”
Dr Motilan said so far biology of eight different small local fish species which have wonderful ornamental characters were studied and successfully bred in captive(Aquarium). Most of the species have responded positively, he added.
The said species are Khabak (Bangna devdevi),Belun Paibi (Devario acuticephalus), Ngarang (Devario aequipinnatus) or Zebra fish, Ngakijou (Lepidocephalichthys berdmori), Phabou Nga (Puntius chola), Phabou Nga (Pethia khugae), Ngakha Meingangbi (Pethia manipurensis), Ngapema(Trichogaster labiosa).
Out of 71 species collected, only 33 species belonging to 19 genera, 4 families under 4 orders were found to culture in the present work, he added. Meanwhile Fishery Officer of Manipur Science Aquarium L Nilakumar opined that most of the small food fish which are treated as unwanted for conventional farming in the region, have good potential as ornamental fish. Besides the ornamental fish business can be taken up in just a room and generate income for unemployed youths in Manipur which is home to a number of fish species which are highly prized for their ornamental values and therefore the State has good potential for aquarium fishes, he said.
Approximately 200 species of freshwater fish from Eastern Himalaya are caught and exported as ornamental fish. This is said to account for about 85 per cent of all exports of ornamental fishes from India, Dr Heok Hee Ng of National University of Singapore in IUCN’s report on Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Eastern Himalaya.
A team of Assam University’s Department of Biotechnology had reportedly recorded a total of 61 ornamental fish – most of them said to be fresh water fish in Jiribam area, out of Manipur’s total 139 fish species.
Homestead ornamental fish-keeping holds good potential and the NE states, can play a major role in the global ornamental fish trade, estimated at around $9 billion with the US being the major importer, followed by the European Union and Japan, if the resource is tapped properly. Singapore is the epicentre of Asian trade and is the largest exporter of ornamental fish in the world.
