2. a)Transportation of fish seed Successful transportation of quality fish seed - influences the viability of aquaculture Traditional method- hundies (earthen or aluminium pots) - heavy mortality of fish seed during transport The main reasons : (i) lack of oxygen, (ii) accumulation of metabolites like ammonia, CO 2, faeces, etc., (iii) hyperactivity, strain and exhaustion, (iv) diseases and parasites and (v) physical injury

3. The methods of seed transport can broadly be classified into two systems: (i)Open system, where the seed is transported with or without aeration/oxygenation/water circulation and (ii) closed system in which the seed is transported in sealed air-tight carries with oxygen/aeration

4. i.Open systems Traditional method- before transporting to long distances, spawn and fry are conditioned in order to empty their digestive tract and condition them to subsist in a restricted area they are inevitably liable to be subjected to during transport The most common method - to store fry in a cloth hapa in ponds or in a still part of the river The period of conditioning depends on the size and health of the spawn, fry and fingerlings

5. Figure : Fish seed being transported to market Figure : Aluminium pots containing as a headload (Photo Courtesy : Dr Utpal Bhowmick) fish seed are transported as slings

6. Catla fry need 48-72 h of conditioning (Jagannadhan (1947)); 6 h of conditioning is required (Alikunhi (1957)) Fry and fingerlings should not be handled with bare hands- lest the slime and scales covering the body be removed and thereby render them vulnerable to fungal and bacterial infection (Jagannadhan, 1947) Figure : Fish seed being transported on a cycle rickshaw

7. Traditional method in Bengal –hundies A traditional hundi is an earthen vessel, but later aluminium hundies were introduced Hundies - of two types, – the smaller one of 22cm mouth diameter and 23 l capacity carried as a head load – larger one of 23 cm diameter and 32 l capacity used for transport by rail or bicycle or as slings The hundies are filled with water from the same source as the fry and they are stocked at 50,000 in the smaller and 75,000 in the larger ones

8. About 58g of fine silt is sprinkled over the water surface in the hundi During transport the hundies are shaken periodically Addition of silt coagulated the suspended organic pollutant as well as kept down the zone and extent of pollution (Basu (1951)) Addition of silt, removes sediments by mopping them up with a rough cloth rope and partial exchange of water permit transport up to a duration of 30h (Saha and Chowdhury (1956))

9. Pulverized earth, activated charcoal and `Amberlit’ tend to absorb carbon dioxide and ammonia from the medium, consequently increasing the survival of fry (Saha et al. (1956)) Improved open metal containers- round vessels with a wide mouth, which can be closed with perforated pressed in lids, the larger type being 53 cm diameter at the base, 20 cm at the mouth and 38 cm high To prevent denting and effect of insulation, woolen covers are used on the metal containers or the vessel is aerated and kept wet during the journey

10. In Kolkata- Transport of carp seed in aluminium pots mounted on bicycle or tricycle Another- Galvanized round tin carriers with a flat bottom of about 40-50 l capacity The inner lid is perforated and dish like and it serves well for aeration by cascading down the water splashed into it during transportation open method of transportation – used because it involves constant vigil and frequent renewal of water on long journeys Dis advantage- not economical to transport bigger fingerlings and adults in small packing units Galvanized round tin carriersaluminium pots

11. ii. Closed system Here, oxygen which is supplied with a cylinder The containers are made of galvanized iron and measured 45.75cm x 35.36cm, with airtight openings at the top, one to let in oxygen and the other to let out the displaced water CIFRI, Barrackpore introduced the 18 l kerosene tins filled with air-tight screw- capped lids for filling, provided with tubes for draining in oxygen from a cylinder and letting out displaced water Figure : A truck being loaded with rectangular tin boxes containing carp seed destined for transportation

12. 900-1000 fry (1-2 cm long) could be conveniently transported by air for over 20 h Three types of closed containers for transport of spawn and fry under oxygen pressure, viz. glass carboys, specially designed aluminium containers and galvanized iron sheet and latex-rubber bags (Saha and Sen (1958)) Aluminium containers -most efficient latex-rubber bags for most commercial use- low cost Figure: Plastic bags containing fish seed are being loaded to a truck for transportation (Photo Courtesy : Dr Utpal Bhowmick). Figure : Metal boxes containing fish seed are being loaded on to a jeep (Photo Courtesy : Dr Utpal Bhowmick )

13. The fry (20-25 mm) were transported in polythene bags (840mm x 610mm; thickness 0.0622 cm) inflated with oxygen, kept in kerosene oil tins (18 l), from Calcutta to Bombay It was found that in such bags approximately double the quantity of fry than those transportable in hundies could be shipped Rohu fingerlings need greater quantity of oxygen for transport during the same period as compared to mrigal (Singh (1977)); The oxygen required for 50 fingerlings of rohu (109-126 mm) for transport during a 12-h period is 1,680 ml against only 475 ml for mrigal (98-100mm) at 31-32 0 C Oxygen requirement of silver carp fingerlings is higher than that of grass carp (Singh et al. (1979))

14. In Karnataka State, carp seed are commonly transported by road in 18 l capacity high density polythene bag containing 1/3 water and 2/3 pure oxygen, sealed and packed in rectangular metal boxes (Basavaraja, 1994) The number of seed to be packed in each bag depends upon their size (from 2,000-10,000, 600-700 and 150-200 for spawn (<8mm), fry (8-40mm) and fingerlings (40-150mm), respectively In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, fish farmers over the years, have developed a method of transporting fish fry and fingerlings in large (1000 l) sinter plastered tanks, with continuous oxygenation during the journey hours

15. Use of anesthetics and disinfectants in fish breeding and live transport Sedation - reduce the metabolic activity and decrease the oxygen consumption by fish; reduces the excretion of ammonia, carbon dioxide and other toxic wastes Controls the excitability of the fish, thereby reducing the chances of injury and the time required for handling them Sedation should be such that it should not totally suppress the escape reaction of fish and it should be possible to revive the fish quickly Sodium amytol 21 to 28 mg/l water considerably reduced the metabolic rate of fry and that 30% more fry could be transported in a given volume of water (Saha et al. (1955))

16. MS 222 at 50 ppm was effective in sedating fingerlings of Cirrhinus reba and Barbus mahicola (Sreenivasan, 1962) The narcotizing dose of urethane, thiouracil, quinaldine and hydroxyl quinaldine is 100, 10, 5-10 and 1ppm, respectively (Sreenivasan (1962)) Natarajan and Ramakrishnan (1960) sedated broodfish with quinaldine at 5 ppm and successfully transported for 5 hours without any mortality

17. Gupta and Sharma (1974) successfully transported 3-3.6 kg Chinese carp breeders in open galvanized iron tanks mounted on a truck to a distance of 310 km involving a 16-h journey under sedation with MS-222 at 1.6 ppm Kewalramani and Gogate (1968) anaesthetized major carp with novocaine, amobarbital sodium and bartital sodium (intramuscular injection) and transported over a period of 1 ½ -2 ½ hours Jhingran and Pullin (1988) stated that while fingerlings need not be essentially anaesthetized before being transported, broodfish must be anaesthetized.

18. Use of antiseptics and antibiotics The accidental introduction of infectious diseases and parasites along with fish consignments is a possibility that must be guarded against This calls for prophylactic measures like the use of antiseptics and antibiotics in the transport medium or short-term bath prior to transport The recommended chemicals and their dosages are as follows: Chemical Dosage (mg/l) 1.Acriflavine10ppm 2. Methylene blue2ppm 3. CuSO 4 5ppm 4. KMnO 4 3ppm 5. Chloromycetin8-10ppm 6. NaCl3% 7. Formalin15ppm