Harvest of associated wild-fish assemblages in estuarine cage farms: Implications for farm management and livelihood

Sea-cage farms form attractive habitats for wildfish populations as they directly provide food-chain support to the fish community through excess feed and organic wastes from the sea cages. They also support wild-fish assemblages indirectly by enhancing plankton productivity and providing substrate for biofouling communities. In cagefarming operations, the farmers realise the major share of the revenue at the end of the farming season during harvest of farmed fishes. Aquafarmers in Karnataka engaged in farming fishes in cages effectively utilized such ichthyofaunal aggregations around net-cages. This study was conducted at Yedamavinahole, Karnataka where seabass (Lates calcarifer) was reared in rectangular cages. Modified shore seines known as ‘Iliyabalae’, which are commonly operated near rocky areas for finfishes and shellfishes, in the region are used for harvesting the wild-fish assemblages in the close proximity of fish cages. Details of gear, fishing operations, the composition of wild-fish around the net-cages and average income generation from the Iliyabalae operations are presented