Aquaculture & Fisheries

Biography

Biography: Nchumbeni Humtsoe

Abstract

Nowadays ornamental fish keeping is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. The growing interest in aquarium fishes has resulted in steady increase in aquarium fish trade globally. The trade with a turnover of US $ 5 Billion and an annual growth rate of 8 percent offers a lot of scope for development. The top exporting country is Singapore followed by Honkong, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Srilanka, Taiwan, Indonesia and India. Majority of the indigenous ornamental fish trade in India is from the North Eastern states and the rest is from Southern states. The economic importance of ornamental fisheries has been recognized by many developing countries for employment generation and livelihoods. India's share in ornamental fish trade is estimated to be Rs 158.23 lakh which is only 0.008% of the global trade. The major part of the export trade is based on wild collection. The domestic market in India is mainly based on domestically bred exotic species.  Nagaland is endowed with hill streams and rivers which harbor endemic fish fauna including ornamental fish. Nagaland has a richness of natural resource such as suitable climate, natural rivers and traditional experience in the culture of fishes so farmers can readily culture ornamental fishes. Nagaland has a great variety of colorful indigenous ornamental fishes and has been found that aqua-systems contains as many as 118 endemic fresh water ornamental fish biodiversities constituting 79.19% of total fish inhabitant. Ornamental Fish Species of Nagaland may be broadly grouped into Non-classified (48 species) and classified (70 species) categories constituting respectively 40.68% and 50.32 % of total ornamental fish species germplasm.  This paper discuss present status of ornamental fish culture in Nagaland and its future prospects.