FJB

FREDERICK JOHN C. BERNARDO

FACULTY MEMBER, COLLEGE OF FISHERIES

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ Stocking rate is defined as the number of fish seed stocked

per unit water surface, with due consideration to the size
and/or age group of the stocking material (e.g. 10 pcs per m ).
2

✓ Stocking density is the total number of animals (or

liveweight) on a part of the area for a certain portion of time
(100,000 pcs in a particular area).
✓ Fish seed refers to the fry, post-larvae and fingerlings of the
species to be cultured, and they are usually obtained from
natural waters and hatcheries.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ A fishpond can only support a certain quantity of fish because

of its limited space and the amount of natural food available.
✓ The natural food is affected mainly by the soil conditions and
water quality of the pond.
✓ This limit is usually called the carrying capacity (or maximum
standing crop) of the pond.
✓ It is defined as the maximum weight of fish stock that can be
sustained by a pond (by either the food produced within the
pond or made available to the fish) without gaining or losing
weight.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ The carrying capacity of a pond can be increased by fertilization

and/or supplemental feeding.
✓ Fertilization increases the production of plankton or benthic
algae as fish food.
✓ Supplemental feeding compensates for nutrients which are in
short supply in the pond.
✓ Aeration and running-water systems increase the amount of
dissolved oxygen thereby increasing the carrying capacity of a pond.
➢ Take note that an increased carrying capacity of a pond (semi-
intensive or intensive systems) allows higher stocking rates
thus higher yield/harvest.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Monoculture
✓ Monoculture is the stocking of a single species in a pond.
✓ Within the monoculture system, there are several stocking
practices that affect pond production like mono-size
stocking, multi-stage stocking and multi-size stocking.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Mono-size stocking
✓ Mono-size stocking is the stocking of one species of the same
size in a pond and to harvest all the fish at marketable size.
✓ This practice has some disadvantages.
➢ If stocking density is too high, the fish would be
overcrowded when they reach adult size. Thus, growth and
survival rates would be reduced.
➢ On the other hand, if stocking density is low, the water space
and the natural food in the pond will not be efficiently
utilized during the earlier part of the rearing period.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Multi-stage stocking
✓ Multi-stage stocking or modular method involves the stocking
of fish of uniform size in progressively larger ponds as more
space is needed.
✓ This method takes advantage of the growth potential of the
fish and their density can be adjusted as they are transferred
to larger ponds.
✓ This practice enables the fish farmers to undertake a continuous
cycle of stocking and harvesting.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Multi-size stocking
✓ Multi-size stocking involves the stocking of different size
groups of fish in the same pond.
✓ Ponds produce a variety of natural food and the feeding
habits of the young and adult fish are often quite different.
✓ The stocking rate and the total yield of a pond can be
increased by stocking different age groups to more efficiently
utilize the forage.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Multi-size stocking
✓ For example, a pond can be initially stocked with milkfish
fingerlings e.g. 3,000 pcs of 5 cm, 2,000 pcs of 15 cm and 2,000
pcs of 18 cm length.
✓ Subsequent stocking may be done with smaller fingerlings
(5 cm length) at about 1-2 month interval at the rate of 2,000
– 3,000 per ha each time.
✓ Repeated selective harvesting is performed 3–5 times to
remove the marketable-size fish.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Polyculture
✓ Polyculture is based on the principle that fertile bodies of
water produce a variety of food organisms and stocking of a
variety of species is effective in utilizing all these food
organisms.
✓ By stocking different species having complementary feeding
habits or that feed in different zones, this will efficiently
utilize space and available food in the pond and increase
total fish production.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

✓ The development of the aquaculture has made it necessary to

transport fish from one place to another.
✓ Fish should be able to be transported at any growth stage in
their life, in such conditions so that they do not suffer lethal
stress, while at the same time being economical.
✓ As fish are placed for long periods in the same small amount of
water for transport, the water quality starts to deteriorate.
✓ Dissolved oxygen content is reduced, carbon dioxide content
increases, and other toxic compounds such as ammonia and
nitrite increase.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Preparation of Fish before Transport

✓ Fish for transport should be captured and held in a separate area
24 hours before being transported.
✓ This will reduce the stress during transport, since the fish will be
easily recaptured.
✓ The fish will also become accustomed (or more specifically
acclimatized) to a new environment outside of the pond.
✓ Acclimatization is the process in which an individual organism
adjusts to a change in its environment, allowing it to maintain
fitness across a range of environmental conditions.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Preparation of Fish before Transport

✓ Fish should not be fed for 24 hours before transport.
✓ This will enable them to empty their intestines before being
transported, so that they do not foul the water during
transport.
✓ It is also possible to use chemicals to reduce fish metabolic
rate during transport.
✓ These chemicals are applied to the water before transport.
✓ However, these chemicals are expensive, and some of them are
not safe to use with food fish.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

Water Quality for Transport

✓ Water for fish transport should be clean, and well water or
rainwater should be used.
✓ Canal water will deteriorate faster, stressing the fish.
✓ Room temperature water can be used.
✓ However, adding a small amount of ice, to reduce water
temperature, will aid in the survival of the fish.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Methods of Transport
✓ A simple way of transporting small amounts of fish, without
aeration, is by the use of a plastic bag, partially filled with
water.
✓ These vary widely in size, shape, and capacity.
✓ For transporting aquarium fishes, the usual capacity is about
one or two liters, while for commercial purposes is widely
used a 40 liters double plastic bag.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Methods of Transport
✓ A double plastic bag is recommended to use
for transporting small fishes, fry, larvae or
fingerlings as well as breeders when the total
amount is small.
✓ A quarter of the bag is filled with water, and
the remaining three-quarters filled with pure
oxygen.
✓ The top of the plastic bag is then secured with a
rubber band.
✓ Using this method, fish can remain alive for 24
hours.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ When the transported fish arrive at their destination, they

should not be placed into the new water body
immediately.
✓ If plastic bags were used for transport, the bags must be put
into the water in which the fish will be placed, for at least 15
to 30 minutes to allow the water in the bag to attain the
same temperature as the water outside the bag.
✓ Failure to this may cause thermal shock to the fish, and may
cause death.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

✓ When the transported fish arrive at their destination, they

should not be placed into the new water body immediately.
✓ If plastic bags were used for transport, the bags must be put
into the water in which the fish will be placed, for at least 15
to 30 minutes to allow the water in the bag to attain the same
temperature as the water outside the bag.
✓ Failure to this may cause thermal shock to the fish, and may
cause death.
✓ Stocking is usually done in the early morning or late afternoon.

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

How to calculate stocking density?

✓ This will primarily depend on the level of culture.
➢ Extensive – stocking rate is 1 to 3 fish per square meter.
Availability of food is enhanced by the application of fertilizer.
➢ Semi-intensive – stocking rate of 4 to 6 fish per square meter.
Combination of fertilizer application and supplemental feeding.
➢ Intensive – stocking rate is from 6 fish per square meter and
above. Combination of fertilizer application and giving large
amounts of supplemental feeds. Water exchange must be done
regularly and mechanical aerators may be needed to increase the
dissolved oxygen level.
Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture
 FJB

How to calculate stocking density?

✓ George owns a fish farm with three (3) ponds having an area of 5,000 m2.
Calculate the stocking density, assuming that each of these ponds will
employ extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive level of culture.

Extensive: 1-3 fish per m2 x 5000 m2 = 5,000 to 15,000 pcs in 5000 m2

Semi-intensive: 4-6 fish per m2 x 5000 m2 = 20,000 to 30,000 pcs in 5000 m2

Intensive: 6 or more fish per m2 x 5000 m2 = <30,000 pcs in 5000 m2

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture

 FJB

FREDERICK JOHN C. BERNARDO

FACULTY MEMBER, COLLEGE OF FISHERIES

Principles & Concepts of Aquaculture