PACKING , TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING OF ORNAMENTAL

FISHES

A. RAMACHANDRAN
School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin-682 016,
India.
E.mail: ram-alappat@eth.net
Website: www.ornamentalfishes.org

INTRODUCTION

Ornamental fishes destined for marketing, both domestic and export have to use modern post
harvest technology or modifications of the current post harvest technology to improve the post
harvest survival and post shipment survival that is critical to the industry. It is in this context that
the significance of packing and transport come into picture. To overcome the problem of high
mortality of fish species at their different stage during transportation, it becomes essential
to evaluate the most suitable and ideal condition for transportation. At present the mortality
rate during fish catching, collection, transportation are very high. The claim by the importers due
to DOA (Death On Arrival) from India is on the higher side compared to the consignments from
other developing countries. This is due to the lack of the use of appropriate technology for fish
packing and transportation/shipment. Similarly, since the airfreight charges are very high, the
exporters have no idea of the optimum number of a particular live fish to be packed in a container
to reduce transportation cost. Such information is lacking on Indian fishes.

TRANSPORTATION
In recent years, transportation of live fish and shellfish is becoming an important activity of the
fish industry. With the development of aquaculture, transport of cultured live fish fry, fingerlings
and post larvae by road, water and air from hatcheries to nearby farms and other states and
countries is on the increase. Trade in export of ornamental aquarium fish is a multimillion-dollar
business. The success for all of which depends on effective packaging techniques and careful
handling practices prior to and during shipment with minimum mortality.

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Transportation of live fish and shellfish from areas of collection to destination or from area of
farming to destination is an important activity of the ornamental fish industry, and the success of
transportation depends on:
 Careful handling practices right from harvesting /quality assurance
 Conditioning for a period of time before packing.
 Effective packaging techniques.
 Stocking density.
 Maintenance of low temperature and high humidity during storage and transit.
 Minimum mortality.
 Replenishment of air with oxygen and reduction in accumulation of toxic wastes
and controlling acidity of water medium with suitable buffers.
 To reduce the metabolic activity and thus their oxygen consumption.
 Conditioning the fish to the environment prior to transportation/shipment.
 Lower temperature of water.
 Addition of permissible and correct dosage of anesthetics.
If not properly planned and implemented large scale mortality would occur resulting in
heavy loss. The most important reasons for mortality of fishes during transport are:
o Mistakes made before transportation (Fed fish, fish density too high, inclusion
of weak and diseased fish, etc.)
o High carbon dioxide tension and or/deficiency of oxygen in the transporting
medium.
o Toxicity of accumulating wastes like ammonia and other metabolites in the
medium
o Improper handling of fish while collection, packing and after arrival leading to
physical injuries.
o Too quick transfers into new water without proper acclimatization, wrong
treatment for diseases affecting the health of fish.

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METHODS OF PACKING FOR TRANSPORT
Two methods are in vogue
 Open system comprising open carriers, with or without artificial
aeration/oxygenation/water circulation
 Closed system having sealed airtight carriers with oxygen.

Before transporting to long distances whether in open or in closed system of transport, spawn and
fry are to be conditioned in order to rid them excreta and to adjust them to the transporting
environment. Information about handling and packaging studies in ornamental fish field in India
is scanty. The modern transportation devices include closed systems like plastic bags, bins,
buckets, collapsible plastic pools and fibreglass tanks. But the most convenient way of
transportation of fish is the use of oxygen packed polythene bags. All that is needed is a plastic
bag, an insulating box, rubber bands and pure oxygen. The fish in the plastic bags are then packed
in boxes and can be transferred like normal cargo by road, rail or air.

Packaging films that are common in the market include LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, HMHDPE,
PCC, NYLON-6, PS, PC, etc. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most commonly used
material since it possess many desirable qualities such as transparency, water vapour
impermeability, heat seal ability, chemical innerness and is fairly economical. But the organic
vapours and oxygen and carbon dioxide perm abilities are high and LDPE has poor grease barrier
property. It resists temperature between -40°c to 85°c. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE)
has better mechanical strength and heat seal ability than LDPE. These properties can be made use
of by blending with LDPE.

STEPS IN PACKING OF ORNAMNETAL FISHES FOR TRANSPORT

Preparing fish for transport

A few days before transport fish should be kept in clean water in separate tanks. Weak or
diseased fish have to be removed. The fish should not be fed for several days, depending on their
size. Feeding for very small fish should be stopped 12 to 24 hours before transshipment while for
fish up to 3 grams body weight it is 48 hours. Larger fish should not be fed for 3 days. Then the
fish should be carefully transferred to their tank of newly aerated water for transport with a
minimum of disturbance. If continuous aeration is not possible during the journey a final topping
up with oxygen or air will be necessary at the last possible moment before final sealing.

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The packing process
Ornamental aquarium fish are packed in a polythene bag (thickness not less than 0.1mm) filled to
1/3 of its volume .The plastics to be chosen for the live fish transport should satisfy the needs
like,
 High oxygen retainability
 Tensile strength
 Tearing strength
The plastic bags should be filled with three parts oxygen to one part water. After filling with
water and fish the upper part of the plastic bag is compressed to drive out the air and then inflated
with pure oxygen and then the aerating tube is withdrawn through the constricting neck .The top
of the bag is then bent and tied with two or three rubber bands and then placed in Styrofoam
boxes. The moulded Styrofoam (thermocole) boxes, seems to have revolutionised packing. And
today the most acceptable packing material world over is either a complete moulded Styrofoam
box or a carton lined with Styrofoam of minimum 15 mm thickness.

FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHILE PACKING

a. DENSITY
Under carefully controlled conditions densities of up to 1 kg of fish per litre of water have been
successfully transported. Densities of around one tenth of this are more usual and ensure that the
health and well being of the fish are preserved. As an appropriate guide 2 kg of fish can be placed
in 20 liters of water inside a polythene bag, with large oxygen filled space above it, and at 10
degree Celsius, can be carried for 5h without the need for further oxygenation. However the
density chosen will in practice depend upon the species, the type of the tank, the temperature and
many other factors, and must really be determined by trial and error for each specific situation. At
high densities fish become agitated which increases oxygen consumption and risk of damage.
Loss of mucous may also occur which can cause discomfort or choking of the gills. Foaming of
mucus laden water may occur with aeration, and may be suppressed by the non-toxic antifoaming
agent.

b. TEMPERATURE
Temperature influences the activity and the oxygen consumption of the fish, and also the oxygen
carrying capacity of the water. High temperature especially may also be directly lethal to fish.

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From all these aspects a low water temperature at least as cool as the water from which the fish
were taken is preferred. Cooling the fish has often been used successfully to calm fish for
transport. Chipped or crushed ice is satisfactory for most of the journeys but not for long distance
air freighting of fish, dry ice has a greater cooling capacity for its weight. However caution must
be exercised to prevent from the evaporating CO 2 from dry ice coming into contact with the
water. Deep frozen blocks of ice or special cooling bags are safer and last a very long time.

When fish from warm tropical waters, water-cooling can be a handicap. Heavy insulation reduces
cooling to a minimum and chemical-heating packs can be helpful. The problem is most
pronounced when tropical species are being transported to temperate climates, especially if fish
are transshipped from one aircraft to the other and the container is left exposed to ambient
conditions at the airport. Perhaps the best solution in this event is to arrange someone on the spot
to properly look after fish being transshipped.

In most cases extreme temperature changes can be avoided by adequately insulating the fish
container with plastic foam or expanded polystyrene and by traveling only at the appropriate time
of the day. Temperature changes should be effected gradually. For example by the switching on
to cool gear or adding ice bags or dry ice containers after the fish have been placed in the
transporting tank. On arrival at more permanent holding facilities, the temperature should be
raised or lowered slowly over several hours if the difference is more than few degrees.

c. DISSOLVED GASES
To maintain fish in healthy state there must be sufficient oxygen in the water. In addition the
build up of carbon dioxide and ammonia must be prevented. Gas concentration can become
critical under transport conditions where the fish are stressed and their oxygen requirement is
greatly elevated. Oxygen concentration can be maintained by bubbling compressed or pumped
oxygen or air, or by surface agitation. For small quantities of transport for a short period,
continuous aeration is necessary. The fish are provided with well aerated water with an air space
above it. The vehicle movement will provide an agitation effect. The effectiveness is increased by
maximizing the surface area, or by providing an atmosphere of oxygen above water. For this
purpose a large space of about 4 times water volume must be left in the container to contain the
air or oxygen. Where larger fish are being transported on especially long journeys or when
animals have a large oxygen demand, it is necessary to bubble air or oxygen continually through
the tank. Pure oxygen is not harmful to freshwater fish but the cost of gas and associated

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equipment may render compressed or pumped air a more attractive alternative. If a gas cylinder is
used it is important to use a pressure regulator to meter the gas flow and to ensure that gas
continues to flow at a constant rate regardless of the cylinder pressure.

Carbon dioxide is toxic to fish, both directly and by decreasing their ability to extract oxygen
from the water with low densities and high aeration rates it is unlikely to attain toxic levels.
Where fish are transported without continual aeration, CO 2 does build up. With high densities of
fish and low densities of oxygen CO 2 concentration may become a problem though the level of
oxygen remained high. Loss of balance of fish can occur at CO 2 level below lethal, so advance
warning of a critical situation is given.

Ammonia is produced as the major nitrogenous excretory produce by most teleosts and is very
toxic. Oxygen concentrations and ph both affect ammonia toxicity. It is un -ionized ammonia
which is particularly toxic. Oxygen concentrations and ph both affect ammonia toxicity. It is the
un- ionized ammonia which is particularly toxic and the equilibrium is markedly influenced by
pH. A shift from ph 8 to 7 produces tenfold decrease in the quantity of unionized
ammonia.Decrease in dissolved oxygen increases the toxicity of un ionized ammonia. A change
in pH ratio across a tissue (eg gills) can also greatly influence the concentration of the un-ionized
gas on each side of barrier. At low fish densities the build up of ammonia is unlikely to create
problems during transport. The risk can be reduced further by holding fish without feeding for
two days before transporting as ammonia excretions rate drops rapidly in the case unfed stage.

d. SALINITY
The body fluids of salt water fishes and freshwater fishes have salt concentration between those
of freshwater and seawater. Thus both are under osmotic stress. And are having to work to
maintain their internal ionic equilibrium. When fish is physically damaged the rate of exchange
can increase and represent a greater stress. Alteration of the external medium has been used in the
transport of both freshwater and sea fish to reduce this stress.

e. ANESTHETICS
Increased physical activity during transport can adversely affect the health of the fish in two
ways. First is physical damage by the abrasion with the packing container second is by a
physiological reaction to a physical activity and other environmental factors such as low
dissolved oxygen. Such reaction is manifested in high blood lactate levels, which can cause

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serious debilitation or death. The level of physical activity of the transported fish must be kept to
the minimum. Lower temperature can help, as can covering carrying tanks with lightproof
material. A third possibility is the use of tranquilizers. A considerable range of chemicals are
potentially useful as tranquilizers, some being employed at higher concentrations as anesthetics.

Several anesthetics now find application in the transportation of fish seeds. Though the
concentration of various anesthetics used differs widely depending upon the species, size, etc.
they have common characteristic feature, viz., lowering the metabolic activity of the fishes by
their depressing action on the brain. This actually leads to the low consumption of oxygen in the
media during transit and thus facilitates higher survival and long duration of journey in oxygen
packed containers under higher stocking densities.

The sedating of fish brings in practical benefits by way of

(a) Decreasing the rate of oxygen consumption and reducing the rate of excretion of carbon
dioxide, ammonia and other toxic wastes.
(b) Controlling the excitability of the fish and thereby reducing chances of injury.
(c) Reduce the time required for handling them.

Any anesthetic that are used for the transportation of fish must possess the following:
(i) Must be water soluble;
(ii) Dosage required should be low;
(iii) Time of induction and recovery should be short
(iv) Fish should tolerate well for several hours at low concentrations
(v) Should not have any side effects in the fish
(vi) Lethal concentration should not be high, so that, fish do not die
accidentally.

The most inexpensive method of tranquilising fish is the use of water chilled down to 5-10 oC
without the use of any drugs. The common tranquilisers used in live fish transportation are
Amobarbital sodium, Barbitol sodium, Chloral hydrate, Hydroxyquinaldine, Tricaine
methansulphonate: MS 222, Methyl paraphynol (Dormison), Quinaldine, Sodium amital,
Tertiary amyl alcohol, Thiorucid, Urathan, 2-phenoxy-ethanol, etc. The dosage of these
tranquilisers has to be standardized for each species and packing density to avoid any
adverse affect. Table 1 and Table 2 show the type of tranquilisers used in the trade.

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PACKAGE DESIGN FOR EXPORTS

Package designing is a unique technological philosophy meeting the various requirements in the
overall distribution chain of the manufactured or processed item. Within this definition several
functions can be identified - protection, and preservation during transit, handling and storage,
marketing strategies, rules and regulations, etc. Thus the importance of packaging must be
reckoned in the early stages of production and marketing. Product and packaging are inseparable

Packaging materials are selected to suit the nature of protection needed, its anticipated shelf life,
and their compatibility with the product. Shipment packages are the external packages containing
the unit containers. These transit packages offer protection against handling and transit hazard.
The following points need consideration in designing the transport container.

1.Protection -against transport conditions

2.Handling -rationalising of the package size for handling in transit and storage
3.Shipping -conditions of shipping rules, regulations, freights, tariffs, journey hazards
4.Manufacturing -to suit in plant packaging line
5.Functional utility -convenience for transportation staff, handling, labour, carrier space.
6.Identification -international markings on package
7.Disposability -to avoid public hazards and pollution
8.Economy-packaging costs

The strength and quality of plastic bags, single or double use of plastic bags, the type of
insulation lining if corrugated card board box are used, the quality of all foam boxes, the quality
and quantity of the water in the water bags, the number and type of fish placed in the single bag
the amount of O2 in each bag and last but not the least the preparation of the consignment before
shipment are all the factors that affect the safety and survival of the fish during transport and
transit.

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Packages are to be selected to withstand journey hazards like-
1. Drops
2. Vibrations
3. Impact
4. Compression
5. Rolling
6. Environmental

Packages can be evaluated in the laboratory for their resistance against these and thus their design
can be modified if required.

The duration of transportation and temperature during transportation and its fluctuation are the
two most critical factors affecting the survival of ornamental fishes. Standardisation of the
handling and transportation procedures with respect to temperature and time is hence essential to
develop a successful export industry for ornamental fishes. Similarly the handling of the fish
during catching, conditioning, packing, transportation, etc. are also crucial. The stress and activity
of the fish should be kept at a minimum.

ORNAMENTAL FISH MARKETING

India has got a promising domestic market for ornamental fishes. Since more and more people
especially children are getting interested in this fascinating hobby the pressure on the market has
been increased several folds in the last few years. The lack of awareness on the potential
ornamental fishes available, under-developed handling and transportation systems including
domestic and overseas airline net work, lack of proper breeding technologies and poor market
information system are the main reasons for the poor growth performance of this sector.

The world ornamental fish trade is about U S $ 4.5 billion according to world statistics. The
largest important markets for tropical fish are U S A, E E C and Japan. About 50% of the supplies
to these markets are from Asian countries – Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and
Malaysia. Even though India, which is one of the largest countries in Asia with a treasury of
beautiful fishes, its resources have not been tapped to the optimum economic benefit. A look into
the ornamental fish trade scenario in the internal market segments indicates that the trade is
mostly for exotic ornamental fish species. Many private breeders and farmers perfected the

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techniques for breeding and farming of important exotic ornamental species and the trade is
flourishing at a rapid pace in India. However the export market depends mainly on the indigenous
ornamental fishes. With the recent efforts made by Central and State Governments, and research
organisations more and more people are entering the indigenous ornamental fish trade especially
the collection of these species from the wild. Among the wild caught species majority is at
present collected from North Eastern States. However, the other states all have potential species
for export market. Proper assessment of the ornamental fishery resources has not been done in
these states. There are 150 full-time and 1500 part-time ornamental fish breeders in our country.
There is a wide gap between demand and supply of ornamental fishes in India. More than 200
species of fresh water ornamental fishes are bred in India for the domestic market. Most of them
are exotic variety with a very large demand. Recent studies in the State of Kerala also show great
potential for exploring the possibilities of marketing indigenous species to overseas market. There
are only 10 active exporters of ornamental fishes from India. An equal number is also engaged in
seasonal activities. During 1999-2000 India's share in international trade was only 0.06% of the
world ornamental fish trade of US$ 650 million.

Ornamental fish exploitation is highly lucrative provided the activity is taken up in scientific lines
with appropriate marketing strategies. Similarly if the proper breeding and handling, and
transportation systems are developed the country has a very bright future in developing this
industry. The industry should be developed within the framework of systems approach, taking
into account all environmental aspects. If we use the available natural resources judiciously with
great care of conservation and proper management, the country can very easily penetrate into
various international markets.

The tropical climate of India is ideal for culture and breeding of most kind of ornamental fishes
present in fresh water, brackish water and seawater. Calcutta, Bombay and Madras have already
emerged as major centers for breeding fresh water ornamental fishes. Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras ports account for all the exports of ornamental fishes from India. The large-scale
commercial farms, which are also limited in number, are confined to the metropolitan cities and
certain sub-urban regions. More farms must be established through out the country and also there
must be expansion and intensification of several of the medium and small size farms in the
resourceful areas so that the production of fresh water ornamental fishes in the country can be
considerably increased. Instead of few, many more species of attraction should be bred and mass-

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produced for substantial improvement in export. Since rearing breeding and mass production of
freshwater fishes are easier these areas must be strengthened more.

The ornamental fish market in India can be broadly classified into Exotic ornamental fish market
and wild caught indigenous ornamental fish market. The market segments for these two
categories of fishes are different. The exotic ornamental fish occupies all the domestic market
segments in India. The markets are mainly concentrated in major cities in India. Major trade of
exotic ornamental fishes is taking place in metropolitan cities like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.
In Kerala alone there is a growth of about 600 times in the number of ornamental fish dealers
over the last five years. At present there are over 100 small scale and large-scale dealers in the
state. In addition to these dealers several hobbyists also practice breeding at modest scale and sell
their fish in the market. This shows that the domestic trade is picking up at a faster rate in the
country. This is mainly due to the promotions given in the recent times by the central and state
Government agencies. Fresh water species are the only species traded domestically on an
established scale. The marine ornamental fish market is only in the infant stage .Now there is
only domestic market for this sector, that too only in a limited and controlled way. A few
entrepreneurs trained in marine fish keeping as recently entered into the fray on experimental
basis especially in the coastal cities. But their share in the total domestic trade is negligible.
Exotic species occupies the major share of the total ornamental fish trade in the country to the
tune of 70-80%. Indigenous ornamental fishes follow this, which has a share of about 10%.
Another sector newly emerging in India is the Aquarium Systems market. Here the party supplies
the total system including the hardware and fish. This is being experimented by few enthusiastic
aquarium dealers in major cities like Calcutta, Bombay, Bangalore, Cochin, etc. In this set up
they supply both marine and fresh water aquarium systems. This is a much promising field as it
attracts the "creamy layers "of our society. Marine ornamental fish trade is in the infant stage in
India due to various reasons like lack of proper knowledge in maintaining the system including
water quality maintenance. There is also no regular supply of ornamental fishes to domestic trade.
The marketing channels for exotic ornamental fishes and indigenous wild caught species are
different. The exotic species are bred and tank raised in sub urban or rural areas and is marketed
to the urban areas either directly by the farmers or by their agents. Whereas the indigenous
species collected from the wild is mainly meant for export. This is collected by an agent in a
locality and transported to the exporters directly or through an agent who collects fishes from

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various suppliers from a state and in turn supply the same to the exporters located in metropolitan
cities like Calcutta, Bombay or Madras.

The country has only 4 regular large size farms. Full time breeders at present are only 300 in
number. These breeders cater to the domestic market and breed only exotic fresh water species.
There are 250 large-scale aquarium dealer shops and 1500 small-scale shops. The country has
about 20 registered exporters of which only 8-10 people are regularly doing the business. An
estimate carried out by Marine Products Export Development Authority shows that that are one
million aquarium fish hobbyists (house holds). The internal trade is estimated to be about U.S $
3.26 million and the export trade is only U.S. 0.38 million annually.

Table 3 gives details of ornamental fishes bred and marketed within India. The present trend of
domestic market is promising with the country’s overall trade in this field shows a very good
growth rate in the recent times. The demand is increasing day by day since more and more
entrepreneurs are attracted to this field especially to the wholesale and retail markets but the
production is not coping with the demand.

More than 200 species of fresh water ornamental fishes are bred in India for the domestic market.
Rivers of North-Eastern states have an abundant number of fresh- water ornamental fishes.
Except for two or 3 species all other species bred and marketed within the country are exotic
ornamental fishes. Gold fish (Carassius auratus) top the list of ornamental fishes preferred in
domestic market. Different varieties of gold fishes are bred and marketed in the country. The
most common ones are red gold, Red & white gold, Black moor gold, Bronze gold and oranda
gold. The average price for these fishes range from US $ 0.032 to 0.87 per piece for a size range
of 2-15 cm. Other more popular varieties include guppies (Poecilia reticulata) with a retail price
range of U.S.$0.022 to 0.11 per piece. Platy (Xiphophorus maculates) is also sold in large
volume. The main varieties of platy include red and marigold. The price structure is more or less
similar to guppies. Sword tail (Xiphophorus helleri) and mollies (Mollienesia sphenops) also go
in bulk quantities in various markets. The price varies from U.S. $ 0.02 to 0.16 per piece.
Different species of barbs are also available in the market. The most common barbs are golden
rosy barb (Puntius conchonius) and tiger barb (Puntius tetrazona). The price for these fishes is
slightly higher than the mollies and swordtails. Among Anabantoids, the most popular fish is
fighters (Beta splendens) The male commands higher price than the females. The average retail
price for males and females respectively are U.S.$ 0.11 to 0.26 and 0.043 to 0.089 respectively.

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Tetras are also considered as a good fish in community tanks and have good demand. The price
structure is more or less similar to barbs for black (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi ) and albino tetras.
Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) is gaining popularity in all the markets especially in the urban
markets and fetches relatively higher price. The price range for a mixed colour koi carp is from
U.S. $ 0.09 to 1.3 per piece for a size range of 3 to 20 cm. Angels are another beautiful fish in
high demand. Various types of angels (Pterophyllum scalare) are available in the market like
ordinary angel, marble angelm golden angel, koi angel, etc. The price for marble and koi angels
is higher than other angels. Other species of importance are the Zebras, various types of fresh
water sharks, gouramis, Oscars and tin foil barbs. Recently Discus has been introduced into the
market, which command very high price compared to other fresh water ornamental fishes. The
high-income groups purchase this only in the metropolitan and larger cities. The price varies
from U.S.$ 8.7 to 14.13 in the retail markets. However, depending on the colouration, this fish is
sometimes sold at much higher prices especially in the ornamental fish exhibitions in India. This
is the trend with other fishes also. Monos (Monodactylus argenteus) and Scats (Scatophagus
argus) are the two salt-water species recently introduced into Indian markets. They command a
price between U.S. $0.11 to 0.87.

Here the fishes locally produced by the aquarium hobbyists satisfy an appreciable percentage of
the domestic demand. They used to breed the most easily breedable varieties of aquarium fishes
and sell it to the near by aquarium shops or to the other interested people in their area. When they
sell the fishes to the aquarium dealers, the dealers will fix the price, which is usually low. But this
dealing is advantageous to the breeder, as the aquarium dealer will take the fish fingerlings in full
batch.

The prices prevailing for exotic ornamental species in Kerala is comparatively higher than in
other Indian states. For most of the popular species the prices are even higher than prevailing in
the international markets. This is mainly due to the high demand and less supply from within the
state. The main reason for shortage of fish in the market is due to the lack of organised breeders
in our state. Small-scale breeders have established themselves mainly in the districts of
Triruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, etc. They breed the fishes and at the same
time purchase fishes from places like Chennai, Thanjaoore, Madhura, Coimbatore, etc and do
both whole sale and retail business. Most of the fishes are coming from other states especially
Tamil Nadu. Kerala has now taken initiatives to set up local farms to meet the internal demands
of the market. How ever it is only in the infant stage. The Matsyafed, a State funded organization,

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is promoting group farming activities for the production of ornamental fishes in the rural areas
with the help of women societies.

With the recent promotions given to the indigenous ornamental fishes for its popularisation both
in India and abroad by Marine Products Export Development Authority and Cochin University of
Science and Technology, awareness could be created among the people about the beauty and
significance of the indigenous species as well. More over the indigenous species command good
market in export trade than exotic species. The Web site created by the School of Industrial
Fisheries of Cochin University of Science & Technology namely “ www.ornamentalfishes.org “
gives all-important details about the indigenous ornamental fishery resources of the state. This
web site also has facilities to receive on-line market information of these fishes. Now the
aquarium shops in Kerala, where exotic species used to dominate have started experimenting the
sales of indigenous fresh water fishes like loaches, cichilids, barbs, catfishes, etc.

INDIA'S ROLE IN ORNAMENTAL FISH TRADE

PRESENT STATUS

The largest important markets for tropical fish are U.S.A. EEC and Japan. And 50% of the
suppliers are in Asian countries- Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, and Malaysia are the
major suppliers of ornamental fishes. Even though India, which is one of the largest countries in
Asia, is a treasure trove of fish fauna, its resources have not been tapped to the optimum
economic benefit. A look into the ornamental fish trade scenario indicates that more emphasis is
given to the exotic ornamental fishes for domestic trade. Among the wild caught fishes exported
from India 80% are from the North Eastern States. Potential of freshwater as rich source of the
ornamental fish is yet to be recognised. Of late studies on freshwater fishes have started gaining
momentum with the rising demand for indigenous fishes as well as projects being taken up by
educational institutions.

Internationally there is a great potential for live tropical fishes and India can very well
compete and export tank raised as well as wild caught varieties to overseas countries. If
the resources are judiciously tapped in its scientific form, with the application of natural
resource management, the country could have increased its export earnings several times

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and generate additional employment opportunities especially in the rural sector. The
export performance of our tiny neighbor, Sri Lanka is an eye opener in this direction. Sri
Lanka has earned Rs. 600 million from export of aquarium fish in 1999. The country has
achieved a growth of 60 % within five years.

The ornamental fish trade in India started on an experimental basis in 1969 with export earnings
of US $ 0.04 million. It grew to US$ 0.12 in 1989. There after there is an appreciable growth in
this trade. Fig. 1 shows the growth of ornamental fish export trade from India during 1994-95 to
1999-2000. The trend shows a substantial growth in the trade after 1997-98.
Table 4 shows the species of ornamental fishes exported from India and the price offered by the
About 220 species of fishes mainly indigenous species are being exported to different countries
during 2000-2001. Of which 178 are indigenous species. The price offered is different in different
countries. The price quoted is in FOB and the packing charges and transportation charges are
extra. The high priced varieties include Fire head shrimp (U S $ 53.43), Spiny eel (
Mastacembelus punctatus) – U S $ 11, Rainbow paradise fish - U S $ 10, Rainbow snake head
(Channa bleheri (Vierke) -U S $ 9.33, Gonoproktopterus curmuca – 8.5, Wallago attu (U S $ 8),
Puntius gerdoni – 8, Red line torpedo fish (P.dennisoni_ - 8 and Etroplus suratensis – 7.81. With
the recent promotions given by Government of India and various State Governments in the recent
times to various R & D activities related to ornamental fish collection and breeding, India can
become a major exporter of various species listed

Fig. 2 shows the port wise export of ornamental fishes from India during 1996-97 to 1999-‘00.
Calcutta dominates the export through out the period. Followed by Mumbai and Madras. From
Kerala, Tiruvananthapuram also registered a small quantity of export during 1998-99 and
1999-’00.

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