Mass production of SIS seed to promote nutrition-sensitive inland aquaculture in Asia

Abstract

Persistent malnutrition in Asia necessitates innovative solutions. This article explores the potential of nutrient-rich small indigenous fish species (SIS) to combat undernutrition and promote nutrition-sensitive aquaculture in South Asia. Integrating SIS into carp polyculture systems has great potential to increase the micronutrient productivity of traditional aquaculture, but, until very recently, a lack of techniques for hatchery-based mass production and distribution of SIS seed was a key bottleneck hampering the widespread adoption of SIS aquaculture. This article draws attention to significant new breakthroughs in hatchery-based seed production for multiple SIS in India, and their implications for scaling up nutrition-sensitive aquaculture throughout the region.