Indian Fish Research Articles

Morphological and molecular characterization of Myxobolus puntiusii n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) infecting Puntius sophore Hamilton, 1822 from Ranjit Sagar Wetland, Punjab (India)

The pool barb, Puntius sophore Hamilton, 1822, is a tropical freshwater cyprinid fish native to inland waters in Asia. Herein, a novel myxozoan from plasmodia on the caudal fin of P. sophore from Ranjit Sagar Wetland in Punjab, India is described. Myxospores were consistent with the genus Myxobolus, ellipsoidal in frontal view, lemon-shaped in lateral view; length 7.76 ± 0.28 µm, width 5.36 ± 0.15 µm. There were two polar capsules of unequal size: a larger polar capsule, length 3.01 ± 0.08 µm, width 1.83 ± 0.11 µm, with 6-7 turns of the polar filament, and a smaller polar capsule, length 1.71 ± 0.15 µm, width 0.94 ± 0.07 µm, with 3-4 turns of the polar filament. The 1183 bp 18S rDNA sequence was up to 95% similar to Myxobolus spp. from other cyprinid fishes in India. Given the novel host, unique myxospore morphology, and 18S rDNA sequence, we propose Myxobolus puntiusii n. sp.

Age, growth and diet of Reba carp Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton 1822) in Lower Anicut reservoir, Tamil Nadu, India

The Reba carp Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton) has a best food category fish in India and its adjacent countries. The natural resources of this species are on the way out due to over exploitation and habitat changes. Here, is an important consideration that should be taken into account to the develop conservation strategies of the species. Besides, the present investigation was designed the health condition, age and growth and assessment of feeding behaviour. Following this, the species health status was assessed by Fulton’s condition factor and reported their irrelevant growth related to the size. C. reba attained the highest growth rate in females than males were strongminded by von Bertallanffy Growth Factor parameters and Electronic Length Frequency Analysis. However, analysis of stomach contents was revealed that this species were observed an omnivore, particularly plankton feeder. So far, the objective of this study was to provide necessary inputs on the biological parameters of this species for artificial propagation programs and conserved natural populations in our riverine ecosystem.

Boom and bust in Andhra Pradesh: Development and transformation in India's domestic aquaculture value chain

India is the world's second largest producer of farmed fish, and the state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) is by far the most important producer of farmed fish in India. Freshwater aquaculture has boomed in AP since the late 1970s, first with carps, then pangasius catfish. Over this period fish pond area and farmed fish production grew from nothing to reach 142,000 ha and 1.5 million tons, respectively. Despite its scale and dramatic consequences, the boom has received little attention in the international literature. The present paper addresses this gap by analyzing changes in the structure and conduct of each segment of AP's freshwater aquaculture value chain during four distinct phases of development (incubation, take-off, maturation and modernization). This analysis reveals that aquaculture development in AP shares many characteristics with agricultural commodity booms elsewhere in Asia. The paper contributes to the literature on crop booms by: 1) characterizing Southern domestic demand for agricultural products as an important but overlooked driver of agrarian development, and; 2) identifying interlinked processes of innovation and transformation in off-farm segments of the supply chain as a central feature of crop booms.

Molecular characterization of three species belongs to the Allocreadioidea, Hemiuroidea and Plagiorchioidea (Platyhelminthes: Trematoda) infecting freshwater fishes in India

Summary Three species of digenetic trematodes are redescribed based on specimens collected from the intestine of freshwater fishes of Hastinapur and Meerut (U.P.), India: Allocreadium handiai (Pande, 1937) Madhavi, 1980 (Allocreadioidea: Allocreadiidae) from Mystus tengara (Hamilton, 1822) (Siluri-formes: Bagridae), Genarchopsis goppoOzaki, 1925 (Hemiuroidea: Derogenidae) and Phyllodistomum chauhaniMotwani & Srivastava, 1961 (Plagiorchioidea: Gorgoderidae) from Channa punctata (Bloch, 1793) (Perciformes: Channidae). The three species were subjected to morphological, morphometric and molecular analyses. The morphological study revealed that A. handiai, G. goppo and P. chauhani can be distinguished by their congeners on the basis of their morphology. Partial nucleotide sequences of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene were obtained from the three trematode species and deposited in the GenBank. A phylogenetic reconstruction based on the 28S rRNA gene placed the three studied species within their respective families and their validity is discussed. For the first time molecular data of newly collected material of these species from India were used for confirmation of their validity and to assess their phylogenetic relationships.

Species diversity of the genus Thelohanellus Kudo, 1933 (Myxozoa: Bivalvulida) parasitizing fishes in Indian subcontinent.

A synopsis of 52 nominal species of the genus Thelohanellus Kudo, 1933 reported to infect freshwater fishes in India is presented. These species infect various organs such as gills, fins, scales, skin, muscles, gall bladder, kidney etc. The diagnostic features of the genus include tear-shaped myxospores with smooth shell valves and single polar capsule. The members are histozoic in their nature of parasitism infecting fresh water fishes. The present manuscript is aimed to compile the list of reported species in India along with essential information on morphometrics of vegetative stage, host, organ preference and pathogenic effects if any. Maximum number of species are recorded from state of West Bengal (25) followed by 23 in Punjab (out of which 8 were already reported from other states of India), Andhra Pradesh (7), Orissa (3), Manipur (1) and Haryana (1). Majority of the species have been recorded to infect major and minor carps (43 species) and 9 species in cat fishes. Out of 43 species infecting Indian major carps, T. batae infected the epithelial lining of gill filament of Labeo bata and also the wall of the duodenum and pectoral fin of Wallago attu in Harike Wetland (Punjab). Organ distribution of the species belonging to the genus Thelohanellus indicated that the plasmodia of 27 species were located in the gills, 14 species in the fins, 7 species in the gall bladder, 4 species in muscles and 3 species in kidney, 2 each in scale and skin on the head region and 1 species each in brain, eye, spleen, liver and wall of the duodenum. Recent studies conducted by the authors and also by few earlier studies in West Bengal have documented many species of Thelohanellus to cause serious gill haemorrhagic disease and dermal lesions. Histological studies on the gills of cultured carps in Punjab infected with members of Thelohanellus have indicated that these parasites cause 15-20% damage to respiratory surface leading to localized loss of function.

Rapid review on the use of new age induced breeding agent ‘LHRHa’ in Indian finfish seed production sector

A focused review on the use of LHRHa in induced breeding of fishes in India was made. Use of LHRHa is mainly restricted to high value brackish water and marine fish species whose market value generally exceeds INR 300-400/kg (USD 4.5-6/kg). Published information on use of LHRHa in induced breeding of fishes in India could document only twelve species out of which nine were brackishwater or marine fish. Besides length and weight, the egg diameter of female fishes (>0.45–0.7 mm) is an important criterion for treating the fishes with LHRHa. LHRHa is either used alone or in combination with HCG (most popular), PGE, 17α-MT and Pimozide. Dosage of 20-70 µg/kg body weight for females and 10-40 µg/kg body weight for males with a latency period of 24-36 hours is most common in India. Experiments with LHRHa are being carried out mainly by ICAR-CIBA, Chennai (dominant) and ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi. Standardization and optimization of LHRHa dosage has been attained in Asian Seabass (Lates calcarifer), Cobia (Rachycentron canadum), Grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) while in Grouper (Epinephelus tauvina), Moonfish (Monodactylus argenteus), Milk fish (Chanos chanos), Crescent Bass (Terapon jarbua) and Silver Pompano (Trachinotus blochii), it is under progress.

Rapid review on the use of new age induced breeding agent ‘LHRHa’ in Indian finfish seed production sector

A focused review on the use of LHRHa in induced breeding of fishes in India was made. Use of LHRHa is mainly restricted to high value brackish water and marine fish species whose market value generally exceeds INR 300-400/kg (USD 4.5-6/kg). Published information on use of LHRHa in induced breeding of fishes in India could document only twelve species out of which nine were brackishwater or marine fish. Besides length and weight, the egg diameter of female fishes (>0.45–0.7 mm) is an important criterion for treating the fishes with LHRHa. LHRHa is either used alone or in combination with HCG (most popular), PGE, 17α-MT and Pimozide. Dosage of 20-70 µg/kg body weight for females and 10-40 µg/kg body weight for males with a latency period of 24-36 hours is most common in India. Experiments with LHRHa are being carried out mainly by ICAR-CIBA, Chennai (dominant) and ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi. Standardization and optimization of LHRHa dosage has been attained in Asian Seabass (Lates calcarifer), Cobia (Rachycentron canadum), Grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) and Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) while in Grouper (Epinephelus tauvina), Moonfish (Monodactylus argenteus), Milk fish (Chanos chanos), Crescent Bass (Terapon jarbua) and Silver Pompano (Trachinotus blochii), it is under progress.

Histamine levels in Indian fish via enzymatic, TLC and HPLC methods during storage

Histamine is a potentially hazardous compound and one of the major concerns in food chemistry. In the present study the histamine levels of 20 muscle sample for each milk fish (Chanos chanos) and Indian whiting (Sillago indica) were analyzed with 6, 12, 18 and 24 h intervals and compared by enzymatic assay (EA), thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. During storage, histamine levels were ranged between 16.50 ± 1.63 and 48.13 ± 1.24 mg/100 g with a linear regression r2 = 0.855; P < 0.05 for the milk fish as determined by the EA method. Whereas, histamine levels in Indian whiting was 19.86 ± 1.64–43.84 ± 2.44 mg/100 g with a linear regression r2 = 0.997; P < 0.01. In the TLC method, histamine were observed at lower levels compared to the EA and HPLC and showing 4.77 ± 0.13–7.72 ± 0.16 and 6.81 ± 0.11–7.53 ± 0.15 mg/100 g in milk fish and Indian whiting muscle, respectively. The linear regression r2 = 0.835; P < 0.05 was noted in both fishes. The HPLC analysis also confirmed that the histamine levels were ranged from 18.18 ± 1.03 to 28.69 ± 1.14 mg/100 g in milk fish with a linear regression r2 = 0.903; P < 0.01. For Indian whiting fish, histamine was ranged from 17.28 ± 1.67 to 23.97 ± 1.27 mg/100 g with a linear regression r2 = 0.910; P < 0.01. Therefore, monitoring of histamine is a critical task in the seafood industry. Our result showed that the TLC methods can be used to monitor the histamine content in routine analysis and enzymatic analysis can be used to quantify the levels of histamine in the seafood industry.

Proximate Composition and Determination of Heavy Metal Content in Indian Fish using ICP-MS after Closed Vessel Micro Wave Digestion

The objective of the present study was to investigate the heavy metal content in fresh water fish collected from the outlets of twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. The heavy metal content of fresh water fish varieties was investigated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (MD-ICP-MS) after microwave digestion. Heavy metal content in fresh water fish were ranged from 52-680 µg/kg for Nickel in Rastrelliger kanagurta and Stromateus sinensis, 38-690 µg/kg for Arsenic in Rastrelliger kanagurta and Pompus argenteus, 3-62 µg/kg for Cadmium in Masto symbollon and Pompus argenteus and 27-108 µg/kg for Lead in Panaeus monodon and Rastrelliger kanagurta respectively. Results were in accordance with recommended human daily intake values except for arsenic, which were in agreement with WHO/FAO recommended values. Since the available data for heavy metal content in fish is scanty, efforts were made to present a precise data for the same as estimated on ICP-MS. This study may provide information on important heavy metal concentrations of fresh water fish and shell fish and therefore provides an essential baseline data with which future levels may be compared and evaluated. Results were in accordance with recommended daily intake allowance by WHO/FAO.

A note on Clupisoma garua (Hamilton, 1822), a freshwater catfish of Indian subcontinent (Teleostei: Siluriformes)

Clupisoma garua is a catfish species which is widely distributed in different countries of Indian subcontinent. It is a popular food fish as having good taste and very less intramuscular bones in its flesh. It is also a popular game fish in India and recently has also made its entry in ornamental fish markets of India. Though C. garua has been documented as vulnerable in India and critically endangered in Bangladesh; due to its abundance and wide spread nature it has been assessed as Least Concern under IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The present report has been prepared to sum up the available information on different aspects of C. garua along with noting down the some possible measures that should be taken into consideration for its conservation.

Morphology, molecular and systematic analyses of Bychowskyella (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) in siluriform fish from India.

Three species of genus Bychowskyella Akhmerov (1952), i.e. B. fossilisi Majumdar & Agarwal, 1989, B. tchangi Gusev, 1976 and B. wallagonia (Jain, 1959a) Gusev, 1961, were found to parasitize the gill filaments of siluriform fish in India. This redescription based on light microscopic examination of B. fossilisi, B. tchangi and B. wallagonia provides detailed taxonomic data for these species. We also amplified the 18S ribosomal RNA gene to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of these three species. The morphological and genetic profiles confirmed the validation and taxonomical relationships of the above-mentioned species belonging to the genus Bychowskyella.

Virulence properties of Aeromonas spp. from modified-atmosphere- and vacuum-packed milk fish (Chanos chanos Forsskal, 1775)

The study was undertaken to determine the pathogenic potential of Aeromonas spp.; Aeromonas hydrophila (18 isolates), Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria (15 isolates), and Aeromonas veronii biovar veronii (28 isolates) isolated from milk fish packed under modified atmosphere and vacuum and stored at 0–2 °C. The isolates were identified by biochemical methods and checked for the presence of 11 virulence genes; ahh1, aerA, act, ast, alt, asaI ahpA, ahpB, gcat, lip, and DNase. All the virulence genes were present in 39 % of the A. hydrophila isolates. Virulence-associated phenotypes were present in most of the isolates. The antibiotic resistance patterns of the Aeromonas spp. from fish revealed that all the isolates were resistance to ampicillin and penicillin. In addition, resistance of the isolates to cephalothin (86.7 %), carbenicillin (62.2 %), and erythromycin (40 %) was also observed. To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolation and characterisation of pathogenic Aeromonas spp. from modified atmosphere packed fish in India. The results of this study add to our knowledge of the ecology of this organism in packed fish, and may in the future help prevent infections in humans.

Biology and Growth Parameters of Spotted Seerfish - &lt;i&gt;Scomberomorus&lt;/i&gt; &lt;i&gt;guttatus&lt;/i&gt; (Bloch &amp; Schneider, 1801) from North East Coast of India

Seerfish is one of the most commercially important food fish in India. The production figure of seerfish shows an increasing trend in the last five decades in the Indian coasts. Among the five species of seerfishes the species Scomberomorus commerson and S. guttatus commonly occur in Indian waters. The seerfish production in India during 2011 stands at 48954 t and that of spotted seerfish was 17535t (35.8%). The exploratory survey results of Fishery Survey of India (FSI) by deploying demersal and pelagic trawl indicated the dominance of S. guttatus (62.2%) in the seerfish catch during the period 2006-10 in the northeast coast of India. The biological as well as growth and population parameters of a particular species are absolutely needed to manage the fishery to a sustainable level. Hence in this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the exploratory survey data collected onboard FSI vessels to study the biology and growth parameters of spotted seerfish S. guttatus in the northeast coast of India. The study indicated that the size range of the species ranged between 16.1-63.5cm fork lengths with 39.1-42cm length group dominated the population. The male to female ratio was 1:1.6. The length weight relationship was Log W = -1.1283 + 2.4627 Log L (r = 0.91). There were six stages of maturity and the spawning season was between January and June. The growth parameters such as L∞, K and t 0 were 64.6cm, 0.97 and -0.1532 respectively. The natural mortality was 1.43 and fishing mortality was 1.28. The longevity of the species was estimated as 2 years. The virtual population analysis (VPA) indicated that the mortality due to natural causes alone was up to 28cm length suggesting exploitation of smaller specimens. The food and feeding study shows that the species are piscivorous in nature.

Potential in Improving Nutritional Security through Aquaculture Development in India: A Regional Level Analysis

A large section of Indian population is dependent on animal source of protein like milk, meat, fish and egg. Except milk and milk products, all the other sources of food are considered as non-vegetarian proteins. Among them, fish is significant as one-quarter of population, numbering around 300 million people, consumes fish in India. It contributes about 44 per cent of non-vegetarian protein. The present paper has analyzed consumption pattern of fish and its contribution to non-vegetarian protein at the regional level. The National Sample Survey data which were available at the state level and were aggregated to the regional level, viz., eastern, north-eastern, western, northern, central and southern regions. The fish and inland fish production in the region vis-a-vis consumption has been analyzed to find out deficit and surplus regions. Based on the resources and aquaculture yield gap at the regional level, the potential for increasing fish production has been analysed. The study has concluded that there is potential to double the fish production at the national level and regional trade would be encouraged due to differential resource endowment across the regions which would contribute to the protein and nutritional security in a significant way.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Bacillus subtilis and Terribacillus saccharophillus on Innate Immune Responses of a Tropical Freshwater Fish, Labeo rohita

Objective: Indiscriminate use of antibiotics to control fish diseases has led to the development and propagation of antibiotic resistant bacteria in aquatic ecosystems. Amongst the various alternatives proposed, enhancing immunity in fish using probiotics is the most widely accepted approach. Several earlier studies indicated the possibility of more potent effects of bacteria on fish when administered in live condition than as inactivated cells. But very few studies have explored the effect of gut bacteria on innate immune responses of fishes. Hence an attempt is made to study immunostimulatory effects of dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis and Terribacillus saccharophillus isolated from the gut of an edible Indian freshwater fish, Labeo rohita, in the same species. Methods: Long term administration (for 30 and 60 days) of B. subtilis or T. saccharophillus isolated from the gut wall of L. rohita were tested in the same species for their ability to improve innate immunity through measurement of the phagocytic activity, respiratory burst, myeloperoxidase activity, serum IgM levels, serum lectins, haemagglutination and haemolytic activity. Results: Dietary administration of 107 cfu/g of B.subtilis/T. saccharophillus for 30 (B1) or 60 (B2) days resulted in a significant increase in immune and humoral responses of L. rohita. Serum phagocytic activity, respiratory burst activity, myeloperoxidase activity, serum lectins, haemagglutination and haemolytic activity increased upon administration of B.subtilis / T. saccharophillus, except serum IgM levels which increased only in B1. A positive correlation was observed between the duration of supplementation of diets and the responses in both the cases. Conclusion: The results suggest that T. saccharophillus can also be used as a potent probiont similar to B.subtilis and both will have significant applications in fish feed formulations and disease prevention.

Growth performance and trade direction of Indian fish products

The present study analyses the growth performance of production and export of fish products and its trade direction. The results of the study revealed that fish production of India has registered a annual growth rate of 3.8 per cent. Among the major fish producing states, Chhattisgarh has witnessed highest compound growth rate of 15 per cent per annum. The vast production base offers India has tremendous opportunities for enhancing surplus exportable quality fish products. During 2014, India exported about 983.756 million tonnes of fish products to South East Asian countries. Frozen shrimp is the major export value item accounting to the value of 19368.3 crore rupees. It can be observed that among the fish products, dried fish has registered a highest growth rate of 21 and 26 per cent per annum in terms of quantity and value respectively. It can be further noticed that South East Asia has been the most stable market among the major importers of Indian fish products as reflected by the higher probability of retention of 0.85 whereas Japan has shown the least retention probability of 0.36 which has only retained 36 per cent of its share in export.

Microbiological Spoilage of Dried Fishes

Drying is one of the traditional methods used as preservation of fish. Salted/curing of dried fish is a major source of animal protein available with cheaper cost for the society, especially people residing in coastal areas (Prasad et al., 1999). The consumption of dried fishes is about 32% of the total marine landings in India and is second to fresh fish consumption (Thomas and Balachandran, 1989). About 17% of the total catch is being used for the production of dry fishes in India about (Jeya Shakila et al., 2003). Dry the fish by removing available water in the fish tissue thereby unavailable to microbial growth. Commonly common salt is used to destroy the non-halophilic and spore forming bacteria and also to osmophilic fungi. In spite of the curing with salt, the qualities of dry fishes are being frequently contaminated with bacteria, fungus and insect contamination etc.

Molecular Cloning, Domain Analysis and Homology Modeling of Toll-Like Receptor 3 from Barilius bendelisis (Ham.)

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the evolutionarily conserved pattern recognition receptors that form an ancient arm of innate immune recognition. TLR3 is known to recognize double stranded RNA, a common viral replication intermediate in mammals and fish and, a potent indicator of viral infection. The authors cloned TLR3 from Barilius bendelisis, an Indian coldwater ornamental fish and analyzed the properties of the protein besides generating a three dimensional (3D) model. A polypeptide consisting of 867 amino acids was identified having a signal peptide of 22 amino acids, an ectodomain, followed by a trans-membrane region having 23 amino acids. A cytoplasmic domain [Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain], consisting of 111 amino acids was also detected. The authors have predicted 11 potential glycosylation sites in the ectodomain and two tyrosine phosphorylation sites in TIR domain. The molecular weight of TLR3 polypeptide was predicted to be 97.9864 kDa with an isoelectric point of 6.22. 3D model of ectodomain had a root mean square deviation (RMSD) value of 0.453 A over 656 aligned residues with 47–56 % sequence identity while, an RMSD value for TLR3-TIR domain was 0.443 A over 109 aligned residues with 34–86 % sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship between TLR3 of B. bendelisis and snow trout, Schizothorax richardsonii.

God's fishes: religion, culture and freshwater fish conservation in India

AbstractIndigenous communities worldwide have long relied on their environment for survival. Religious and customary beliefs that foster community conservation have not only bound these communities to ecosystems but also assisted in the conservation of species. We provide an example of how religion fosters the conservation of freshwater fishes in India. Since ancient times rural communities in India have revered fish species as symbols of divine power, and offered them protection in pools associated with temples. Such voluntary, informal institutions and arrangements continue to help conserve several freshwater fish species that are otherwise subjected to anthropogenic pressure in open-access areas. However, religious beliefs in India are waning as a result of increased urbanization, modernization of societies and disintegration of rural communities, and the sustainability of existing temple and community fish sanctuaries is questionable. We discuss the role of temple sanctuaries as an informal conservation strategy for freshwater fishes, and discuss the knowledge and policy gaps that need to be addressed for ensuring their future.

Assessment of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and pesticide residues in domestic and imported pangasius (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) fish in India.

The pangasius catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) is a ubiquitous item of seafood in global markets. However, pesticide residues in aquaculture fish, arising from agricultural run-off and/or direct application during pond preparation, pest control and harvest, are a potential food safety concern. This study assessed the level of chemical hazard in domestic and imported pangasius fish in India. A total of 119 contaminants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorines (OCs) and other groups of pesticides, were screened in 148 samples during 2014-2015 as the first endeavour of its kind in an Indian context, employing a validated gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) method. Apart from the low-level incidence of OCs, pesticides such as quinalphos, malathion, parathion-methyl, etc. were detected in 38% of the samples. In comparison with Indian pangasius, fewer contaminants at low residue level were detected in pangasius fillets imported from Vietnam. The human dietary exposures of the residue concentrations detected were less than the maximum permissible intakes and hence appeared safe. However, detection of commonly used pesticides indicated their direct application in aquaculture and contamination from agricultural run-off. This emphasizes the need for continual residue monitoring in aquaculture fish. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.