Status and prevalence of fish diseases in the fish farms in Pakistan

Objective: Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries in Pakistan. The major zones of fish culture are Punjab, Sindh and N.W.F.P. The number of fish farms has increased from 1655 (area 2489 ha) in 1986 to 6827 (area 13080 ha) in 2006. The estimated fish production from aquaculture in Punjab was 66900 M. tones. In this paper the prevalence of disease types and the effected species in different areas will be discussed. Method & Materials: Different fish farms in Punjab were surveyed and data were collected through questionnaire interview, group discussions with fish farmers. A set of primary questionnaire was prepared and the data was statistically analysed. Results & Conclusion: Data surveyed from different farms in Punjab indicated the prevalence of disease types in different area and the effected species. All cultivable carp species were affected by these diseases to various extents. However, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Labeo rohita and Catla catla were the most susceptible fish species. The disease causing factors and control of diseases through proper fish farm management techniques are discussed. Indiscriminate use of organic / poultry manure, unhygienic fish feed and poor fish farm management practices play an important role in the occurrence and outbreak of the fish diseases. Diseases like abdominal dropsy, fin rot, lernaeasis are common diseases in the Indian and Chinese carps. In addition, due to water storage and excessive use of organic manure oxygen deficiency or hypoxia also cause great losses to the fish production.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fish diseases ، carps ، Pakistan ، management ، organic manure ، hypoxia