Shrimp Farming Units Management with Ratnagiri District

Abstract

Cultivating aquatic organisms under controlled environmental condition has emerged as the one of the fastest growing food industry in the world. Its impressive growth has often accompanied by significant failures, which made it as a high-risk activity. Environmental issues like conversion of mangroves and agricultural lands for aquaculture, salinisation of agricultural lands and drinking water resources due to aquaculture development have been reported in many parts of India. To assess the extent to which the shrimp culture is responsible for these environmental issues, the impact assessment of aquaculture is necessary. The design details were collected from nine aqua farms located in Pichavaram. The satellite data of LANDSAT 5 TM of 1987; IRS IB, LISS II of 1994 and IRS 1C, LISS III of 1998 were used in the study. The preparation of land use maps and change detection analysis were carried out using ERDAS Imagine, ARC INFO and ARC VIEW. The soil samples were collected from and next to aqua farm ponds and also at 50 m, 100 m and 250 m from the farms and also at various depths viz. surface, 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm and 40 cm. The soil samples were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, water holding capacity, porosity and texture using standard methods.