Association of Risk Factors and Management Issues on the Occurrence of Diseases in Carp Aquaculture in West Bengal, India

The risk factors, management issues and impacts of diseases in carp aquaculture in West Bengal were evaluated. The relative risk was calculated for 35 variables related to pond connection/establishment, pre-stocking, stocking, post-stocking management, hygiene and climate. Practices such as the use of rainwater, draining of pond water, pond bottom drying for > 20 days, liming, treatment of fish seeds before stocking, drying and disinfection of fishing nets and training in aquaculture were identified as sparing factors for infectious diseases. On the other hand, variables such as presence of wild fish in ponds, use of sewage water, intensification of culture, presence of more number of grow-out ponds in farms, presence/poor maintenance of nursery ponds, black pond bottom, sludge disposal on pond dyke, mortality of fish seeds during transportation, inclusion of Cirrhinus mrigala and Labeo bata as culturable species, and low temperature were identified as putative factors. These sparing and putative factors are the areas where the resource-poor farmers can attempt interventions with ease to prevent the diseases and to augment fish production. This calls for effective fish health management strategies and participation of all those involved in the development of carp aquaculture.