Ornamental Fish Diversity and Scope for its Development in Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Andhra Pradesh is endowed with a wealth of water resources including rivers, canals, reservoirs, ponds and tanks, two large estuarine systems (Godavari and Krishna), backwaters near Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. These water bodies are home to a rich biodiversity of ichthyofauna. Among, these natural resources a diverse and unique group of fishes are found those having economic importance to the aquarium sector. Keeping ornamental fish as a hobby is gaining popularity in the world, hence this sector assumed significant importance in fisheries. The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) was launched in India in the year 2020-21 and implemented for five years, till 2024-25, which has enhanced the ornamental fish production and trade. With the presence of indigenous fishes and a suitable environment for seed production of these ornamental fishes few coastal states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the North-Eastern states are contributing to this sector in our country. The entrepreneurs in the state are highly focused on the production of food fish activities from both the culture and capture, this might be the reason that the ornamental fish sector has received less attention. Currently, the demand for aquarium fish in the state are largely fulfilled by importing the fish from other states. Approximately 175 numbers of ornamental fish aquarium shops are mainly trading exotic varieties of fishes in the state. With the growing demand for aquarium fish in the domestic and international market, promoting this sector with the setting up of breeding and rearing units in the state may create employment and livelihoods especially in rural and semi-rural areas. Considering the importance of this sector and the presence of favorable environmental conditions for the breeding and rearing of ornamental fishes, the sector has ample scope for development in the state of Andhra Pradesh.