International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research

Authors
Chironjib Singha Samanta, Nirmal Chandra Roy, Angkur Chowdhury

Abstract
Present study concerned about the growth and production of fishes and availability of aquatic inhabitants in Chatol beel floodplain under pen culture technology for a period of 135 days. The pen enclosure was made by bamboo-split fence which covering an area about 2.43 ha. A combination of seven fish species–Labeo rohita, Catla, Cirrhinus cirrhosus, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Puntius gonionotus, Aristichthys nobilis and Labeo gonius were stocked in the pen at the ratio of 30:20:25:5:10:5:5 with the stocking density of 6250 fingerings/ha. The gross fish production of pen was 5282.9 kg, which included 4684.9 kg from stocked fish and 598 kg from non-stocked fish. The small indigenous species of fish (SIS) was dominant in the catches of non-stocked fish and total 20 different SIS species belonged to 12 families were being found with varying abundance. A total 9 species of phytoplankton, 5 species of zooplankton, 21 aquatic weeds and 9 taxa of benthic fauna were observed during study period. The net profit was US $ 3532 and cost- benefit ratio was 1:1.8, which delineate that composite fish culture through pen culture technology in floodplain area has immense possibilities for increasing fish production and financial gains.