What Is Cage Culture and its advantages and Challenges

What is Cage Culture?

Cage Culture Is the modern Aquaculture system where fish are rearing in enclosed net like a domestic basket. Cage culture uses existing water resources (reservoirs, River, Ocean) but confines the fish inside some type of mesh enclosure. Farming of fish in an existing water body removes one of the biggest constraints of fish farming on land, e.g. the need for a constant flow of clean, oxygenated water. Cage culture is the most efficient way of raising fish. Cage culture is an intensive form of aquaculture that has its own set of advantages and disadvantages that should be carefully considered before making an investment.

 

Advantages

1.      1. Feeding, sampling, observation, and harvesting are all comparatively simple.

2.      2. Easy to Installation, easy to management and effective use of feed.

3.     3. Treatment of disease is much simple than that of pond culture.

4.     4. In emergencies it can be removed from one place to another.

5.     5. It provides opportunity for controlled culture of choice.

6.      6. Since the cage is meshed, the fishes inside have less chances of being attacked by predators.

 

Disadvantages

1.         1. The caged fishes are unable to get the natural food of their choice, whereas it is readily                           available to the free fishes.

            2. The incidence of disease can be high and diseases may spread rapidly.

3. Low Dissolved Oxygen Syndrome is an ever present problem and may require mechanical aeration.
4. Fouling of net cage.

  5. If proper water exchange is not there, the uneaten feed and metabolic waste released from             

cages will lead to eutrophication of the site.