Growth, Survival and Production of Lates calcarifer in Seasonal, Rain-Fed Coastal Pond of the Konkan Region

Experiments were conducted for four years in the rain-fed pond (0.2 ha) to evaluate the growth, survival and production of Lates calcarifer. The seed of L. calcarifer was collected from nearby creeks and stocked at varying densities with Oreochromis mossambicus as a forage fish that were available abundantly in the paddy plots of the farm. The fry (L. calcarifer) of variable numbers and sizes (750 of 75 mm, 450 of 73 mm, 1125 of 25 mm and 1125 of 45 mm) were stocked over four consecutive years. The survival percentage was between 76.40 to 86.66. Maximum weight attained by L. calcarifer was 2500 g in about 6 to 7.5 months while average growth was in the range of 196 to 668 g during four years of culture. The highest production of L. calcarifer was observed to be 740 kg/ha/yr besides an additional contribution of 900 kg/ha/yr of tilapia, O. mossambicus.