Small-holder Fish Farming in the Upper Kuttanad and Brackish Water Villages of Alappuzha District, Kerala, India

In Kerala, smallholder aquaculture emerges as an alluring and significant part of rural lives, improving livelihoods and ensuring a sustainable supply of inland fish. One hundred and four smallholder fish farms were surveyed from the upper Kuttanad and brackish water villages of Alappuzha, the state's leading district for inland fish production. Personal interviews and questionnaires were employed to get primary data on species farmed, culture method, feed, and the challenges smallholder farmers faced. The most common fish species cultured in smallholder fish farms is Oreochromis niloticus (GIFT) (34%), followed by Etroplus suratensis (31%), Pangasius pangasius (15%), Anabas testudineus (6%), Channa striata (6%), Labeo rohita (4%), and Heteropneustes fossilis (4%). In the brackish water villages, 60% of the fish cultured are Etroplus suratensis. Eighty-one per cent of the farmers used ponds, 11% used biofloc, and 8% used cages. Sixty-six percent of farmers used commercially manufactured pellet feed, 21% poultry waste, 12% used food waste, and 1% live Black soldier flies. Fish cultured using the bio floc method are the most affected by the fungal disease, gill rot. Anabas testudineus cultured at high stocking density in bio floc showed tail-biting behaviour followed by bacterial infection. Fifty-one percent of farmers reported a lack of appropriate technical and financial aid from the government, including the withdrawal of subsidies for feed purchases. Even though the 2018 flood seriously affected the fish farms, only 8% of farmers reported the flood as a problem affecting their farms. The major challenges brackish water farmers faced were the intrusion of saline water from the nearby lake and the poaching of juvenile and mature fish from natural ponds. Apart from the monetary assistance provided by the government for starting farms under the "Jankeeya Matsya Krishi" Project, smallholder farmers should need additional help with insurance and subsidies to promote sustainable aquaculture.