Freshwater fish
Diadromous fish1980 '81 '82 ' '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90
Year
I 1
Fin. 2. Growth of cultured fmfiuh production in Ada and the Paciilc. (Sources: Csavas 19M;The most important question is how big a
portion of cultured finfish production
belongs to the cheap category and what is
the share of "luxury" species. Considering
the diversity of cultured fish species, a
distinction between carnivorous and
noncarnivorous species seems to be the
most suitable classification from this point
ofview. This reflects not only the difference
in price of the product but also a difference
in culture systems, because carnivores are
in most cases cultured in intensive
monoculture.
Table 8 shows that, out of the region's
7.0 million t of finfish production in 1990,
93% belonged to noncarnivorous species.
Further, thevastmajority(86%) ofcultured
noncarnivorous fish comprises cyprinid
fish species (Table 9). Together with
tilapias (5%), these relatively cheap food
fishes add up to el 9% of the noncarnivorous
finfish and 84% of the total finfish volume
cultured in the region. In the rest of the
world, the combined share of cyprinids
and tilapias is only 45% ofthe total cultured
fish. Another feature ofAsia and the Pacific
is the 7% share of milkfish, a
noncarnivorous species not cultured
outside the region (Table 9).
Major producers ofnoncarnivorousfish
are Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia,
the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Aquaculture was not traditionally
practiced in Nepal, Laos and Bhutan (three
landlocked countries of the region) but,
during the past two decades, integrated
fish culture was introduced to these
countries, with international assistance,
and was very well received. It is based on
low-input polyculture of cyprinid fish
species. In nutrient-rich lakedreservoirs
in Nepal and Laos, cage culture of filter-
feeding Chinese carps was also introduced
and has proven both economically and
ecologically viable.
In some Asian countries (most
characteristically in Bangladesh and India,
but also in China), relatively small seasonal
or perennial waterbodies, not originally
meant for fish culture, are now widely
utilized with low-input aquaculture. These
"tanks" (as they are called in much of
South Asia) were dug out as clay pits or
constructed as small reservoirs for storing
water for irrigation, domestic use and/or
wateringlivestock. They are in most cases
undrainable and have no additional water
supply during the dry season. However,