TITLE:
Water budgets for freshwater aquaculture ponds with reference to effluent volume
AUTHORS:
K. K. Sharma, B. C. Mohapatra, P. C. Das, Bikash Sarkar, S. Chand
KEYWORDS:
Water Budgets; Freshwater Aquaculture; Ponds; Carps; Seepage; Pond Evaporation
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.8,
July
23,
2013
ABSTRACT: This paper presents the consumptive water use for freshwater pond
aquaculture for semi-intensive carps farming practices. The consumptive use
of water includes evaporation loss, seepage loss and water exchanges requirements.
The water requirement has been estimated to be10.3 m3/Kg of fish production under present
study for semi-intensive culture and with supplemental feeding. Out of which7.6 m3/Kg of fish production is
system associated requirement. On an average the evaporation loss from the pond
is1498.3 mm/year
and seepage loss per year is about1182.60 mm/year. Seepage and water exchange losses
recharge the ground water aquifers and if they are treated and recycled, the
water use in aquaculture can be reduced significantly. A further reduction in
fresh water use in pond aquaculture is possible through development of
intensive and superintensive culture systems and aqua feeds.