Use of hapas to produce Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) seed in household foodfish ponds: a participatory trial with small-scale farming households in nothwest Bangladesh

Abstract

Production and supply of fish seed-stock are essential for the promotion of aquaculture. Traditional inland aquaculture was based on the collection of seed-stock from rivers and required the sorting and acclimatising of mixed species. Fine meshed nylon net cages ‘hapas’ have been used for this purpose for Chinese carps in China and in Bangladesh and India for Indian major carp for a long time. Hapa nursing of small fry to larger, more predator-resistant fingerlings has been the focus for intensification of aquaculture in North East Thailand and Lao PDR. This paper presents the results of an on-farm trial with farming households in NW Bangladesh over two years to assess the adoptability and performance of. hapa-based seed production.