Why Odisha Keeps Missing The Ornamental Fish Bus

Why Odisha Keeps Missing The Ornamental Fish Bus

Odisha is considered an abode of numerous ornamental fishes, but one will hardly ever find them adorning aquariums or drawing rooms. It is always ornamental fish from Kerala, Bengal or a few other states, leaving Odisha out of the race despite its potential.

The reason indigenous ornamental fish have not made a mark yet is because they remain untapped, while experts in Kerala, Bengal, Assam and Tripura have conducted surveys, studied existing types of ornamental fishand their habitat, market potential and vulnerability to environmental degradation.

“Our unit at Kausalya ganga breeds7 lakh to 10 lakh ornamental fishes annually and earnsover Rs 3 lakh.There are around 30 species, nearly four of them indigenous,” says fisheries officer J.N.Samal, in-charge of the government’s ornamental fish unit at Kausalyaganga in Bhubaneswar.

Some, however, doubt that any of the four species are Odishan. There have been demands for a scheme to encourage surveys and studies on types of Odishan ornamental fishes and areas where they are available and another to promote their breeding by private entrepreneurs.

“A government scheme came into force in 2016-17 to provide loans with a substantial subsidy component (40 per cent for fish farmer groups of general category and 60 per cent for women and SC and ST groups. There was also 25 per cent subsidy for entrepreneurs/individual persons,” says Subbrat Dash, the deputy director (fisheries).

Asked about indigenous ornamental fishes of Odisha, Dash, however, said: “Till now, Odishan ornamental fishes are not available. Entrepreneurs here try breeding species from north-eastern states.”But Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra, a successful ornamental fish farmer from Anand village in Cuttack district, said a stream near Choudwar has several eye-catching species waiting to be tapped. “I have a project coming up in Chowdwar. Once completed in about four months, I will explore and breed them,” he said.

“Inventory of Indigenous Ornamental Fishes from Coastal Districts of Odisha”, a researchundertaken in 2013-14 by scientist Dr Bikram Keshari Baliarsung of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Jeypore, Koraput district, lends credence to Rajesh’s claim.

Under the guidance of principal scientist Dr Saroj Kumar Swain of Bhubaneswar-based Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Dr Baliarsingh found two indigenous ornamental species—Psilorhynchusswaini (named after Dr Swain) and Psilorhynchusodishaensis— near Harishankar on the Mahanadi river basin inthe southern slope of the Gandhamardan hills, around 81km from Balangir.

“I found 111 species during my research. As many as 56 of these had ornamental value. Psilorhynchusswaini and Psilorhynchusodishaens is figured in the list of indigenous species for the first time then,” Dr Baliarsingh said.

Several Odishan indigenous varieties are either extinct or on the verge of extinction because of urbanisation, industrialisation and deforestation that destroy their habitat.

“Some tribals use juice from the root of a particular tree—called Arjun — to poison the fish,” says Dr Baliarsingh. “They do so to feast on them. As they are unaware of their ornamental value, they either sell them or consume the fish.”

Also, sources said, unofficial introduction of several exotic carnivorous species like Piranha, Paku, Senegal, Arapaima and suckermouth catfish into aquarium trade posesa threat to indigenous species, including ornamental ones.

“There is a need to clamp restrictions on trade in such carnivorous fishes. Otherwise, one day we may lose ornamental fishes not just from Odisha, but also the country,” a source who did not wish to be named said.There is a need for government and non-government agencies to take steps to conserve and breed these fish to keep aquatic biodiversity intact.

For this, experts require knowledge about their habitat, feeding and breeding traits. Unfortunately, only a few scientists in India have this expertise.

Asked about the breeding of species like Psilorhynchusswaini, CIFA’s principal scientist Dr Swain said: “The breeding process of this species is yet to be standardised. Besides, breeding of Psilylorhynchusswaini in captivity would require a shoal.Just one or two species won’t help.”

Even if the breeding process is standardised, Odisha’s market is not ready to accept them yet. “Most traders in Odisha deal only in exotic ornamental fishes they procure from Kolkata,” says Sachikanta Behera, a trader in Keonjhargarh, the district headquarters of Keonjhar. “Even if the indigenous variety is sent to the market, customers won’t buy them yet. There is a need to market such species before traders can sell them.”

Fish farmer Rajesh, however, disagrees. He says if a pair of finger-sized ‘denisoni’ and ‘sun cat’, indigenous ornamental fishes from Kerala, can be sold for Rs 600 and Rs 180 respectively, “why wouldn’t eye-catching Odishan varieties fetch such amounts?”

Principal scientist Dr Swain agrees. He cited Assam’s Channaspecies. “Some indigenous Channa like Channaberca fetchup to Rs 5,000 in the domestic market,” he said.

“A number of traders in Odisha get such Kerala fish varieties form Kolkata,” said Rajesh. “If Odishan varieties are bred and their market is developed, they can sell at reasonable prices to the satisfaction of both traders and customers.”Rajesh also batted for export of indigenous species from Odisha and other parts of India.

“Odishan indigenous species ‘tandikiri’, that has immense ornamental value, can be exported to earn foreign exchange. Here, it sells for Rs 5 a piece,but its price can be much higher in the international market,” he said.

The annual international retail marketfor ornamental fish is over $10 billion,with an average annual growth of over 10 per cent, says an April 2016 report in INFOFISH International.About 2,500 species of variegated families are involved in the global trade, of which over 60 per cent are captive-bred freshwater ornamental fishes. But India’s contribution to this market is less than 1 per cent.

Therefore, indigenous species from Odisha and other Indian states should be bred and their technological know how shared with entrepreneurs so that they take it up and export it to meet the burgeoning demand. Also, the Bhubaneswar airport should be equipped to handle such demands.

No venture to breed indigenous species isas yet visible in Odisha, where just about 20 ornamental fish units of significance function to breed varieties like guppy, molly, platy and angel.“We don’t have such facilities in our college. Nor is it there anywhere in Odisha, except the commendable job that CIFA is doing,” said Prof. S. Nanda, director, College of Fisheries at Rangailunda, Berhampur.

Since 2000, CIFA has been collecting, breeding and conserving indigenous fishes of India. It has collected 15 indigenous fishes from different parts of the country for captive breeding.These include the Arulius barb; Dawkinsiatambraparniei from Tambraparini River; Dawkinsiafilamentosa (Filament barb) species found in coastal floodplains near Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnatana; Miss Kerala or red-line torpedo barb (Sahyadriadenisonii),  an endangered species of cyprinid fish endemic to the fast-flowing hill streams and rivers of the Western Ghats in India; Pethianarayani from South Goa; and many ornamental Channa species like Channastewartii; Channaaurantimaculata and Channableheri  from Assam. Some of them are still on the verge of commercial production and some under research.

“For the first time, CIFA has developed a new variety of indigenous rosy barb called Shining Barb. This variety is developed through selective breeding. Outstation trial has been conducted and they are looking forward to commercialise and popularise it. Many more varieties are in the pipeline in the days to come,” said Dr Swain.