Fish farming handbook

Abstract

This is a paperback handbook designed for handy reference by farm broadcasters, information writers, extension workers, fish farmers, teachers and students in the Philippines. Published and unpublished information has been selected, edited and sometimes rewritten, with the sources noted for each time, to make it available in practical and compact form. The 7 main sections, each preceded by its own table of contents, are: general information; milk fish [Chanos]; prawns (Penaeus indicus, P. merguiensis and P. indicus), including the growing of the marine P. monodon in fresh water; tilapia (Tilapia spp. and a hybrid); mussels and oysters; crabs (Scylla serrata) and other fish (carp, catfish and the sea cucumber, trepang) and aquatic products (how to extract agar, water hyacinth as cattle feed); integrated farming (culture of fish or prawns integrated with that of rice, vegetables, livestock, ducks or frogs); additional information (beware of acid sulphate soils); finally there is a glossary. The handbook seems to be full of solid, practical and varied information, from study of the site before building ponds, fishponds in the forest, cage and raft culture, local aquatic or land plants as fish feed, how to make feed pellets, how to induce spawning, life cycles, control of pests, processing and marketing the fish, and even some recipes for cooking them and how to use their waste products. Local names and resources are used throughout and examples are given of enterprises in the Philippines and countries with similar conditions. M. Smith.