5. FIVE YEAR RESEARCH PLAN

The proposed research activities of the BS have already been broadly defined in the Five Year Master Plan and associated project reports (Anon, 1986b, 1986d, 1987a, 1987b; Euroconsult BV, 1985; Karim, 1986). These are:

“CULTURE

Penaeus monodon Programme

Research directed towards optimum production of P monodon in monoculture and polyculture, including evaluation of management measures (seed, nutrients, protectants and physical factors) as well as identification of new culture systems (shrimps/crops rotation, integrated farming systems). Studies of farm technology and design.

Macrobrachium rosenbergii Programme

Research directed towards optimum production systems of M rosenbergii in monoculture and polyculture, including evaluation of management measures (seed, nutrients, protectants and physical factors) as well as identification of new culture systems (shrimps-cum-rice, integrated farming systems). Studies into improvement of farm technology and design.

Brackishwater Product Development Programme

Identification and evaluation of new opportunities, including fish (mullets, milkfish, catfish), other Penaeus and Macrobrachium species, crayfish, crabs and Artemia.

Nutrition and Diet Testing Programme

Determination of nutritional requirements of shrimps and analysis of growth limitations in (semi-)natural food supply. Translation of these limitations into formulae for supplementary feeds. Testing of processed supplementary feeds (including water stability). Development of complete diet feeds for (post-) larvae as an alternative for cultured feed.

RESOURCES

Macrobrachium Survey Programme

Survey of natural stocks and recruitment of Macrobrachium species. Mapping of breeding, spawning and nursing sites and their relative importance. Studies of natural reproduction cycles and of larva population dynamics.

Penaeus Survey Programme

Survey of natural recruitment of Penaeus species and analysis of factors that determine recruitment. Mapping of spawning and nursing sites and of gateways to the sea and their relative importance. Studies of natural reproduction cycles.

Site Analysis Programme

Establishment of relation between soil and water chemistry and brackishwater production potential. Analysis of availability and suitability of sites for brackishwater aquaculture.

REPRODUCTION

Breeding Procedures Programme

Research into (semi-)artificial reproduction of shrimps and brackishwater fish, including feeding and handling of broodstock, (backgrounds of) induction of maturation and ripening, stimulation techniques, handling of eggs and larvae, and predevelopment techniques.

Hatchery Technology Programme

Development of efficient hatchery techniques (with emphasis on Macrobrachium rosenbergii) through adaptation of existing technologies and/or designs. Development of small-scale (backyard) hatcheries.

HEALTH CARE

Diagnostics Programme

Survey and description of parasites and diseases (and their agents) of shrimps and brackishwater fish. Description of characteristic effects of non-biological agents (including sub-lethal toxicology of commonly used rice pesticides) and nutritional deficiencies.

Treatments Programme

Evaluation and administration of drugs. Identification of safe rice pesticides.

PROCESSING

Handling, Processing and Quality Control

Harvesting, handling, icing and transportation techniques before arrival at the processing plant. Processing technology, especially in relation to market requirements. Quality control, including the development of standardised sampling and analytical techniques. Packing and storage. Shipping and marketing. Utilisation of unused resources and byproducts for other commercial processes and products.”

Any attempt to identify and define the specific research priorities of the BS must take into account the various constraints currently affecting the development of the shrimp farming industry in Bangladesh (see 4 CONSTRAINTS) and the resources available within the FRI. Following detailed discussions with the Director of the FRI, the CSO of the BS, and Dr M V Gupta during the first part of the assignment, it was agreed that the priorities for the first Five Year Research Programme of the BS should be:

• Study of the socio-economic impact of shrimp farming in Bangladesh and the constraints affecting the development of the industry.

• Assessment of shrimp fry resources in Bangladesh, and the improvement of shrimp fry collection and transportation methods.

• Hatchery production of Macrobrachium, including the testing of alternative larval and postlarval feeds.

• Testing of locally formulated and manufactured shrimp feeds.

• Nursery production and growout of Penaeus monodon, with the development of appropriate management/husbandry techniques including the maintenance of the pond environment and shrimp quality.

• Nursery production and growout of Macrobrachium, with the development of appropriate management/husbandry techniques including the maintenance of the pond environment and shrimp quality.

• Survey of shrimp diseases and the screening of locally available drugs and chemicals for their treatment.

• Assessment of the impact of brackishwater aquaculture practices on the mangrove environment, including the collection of fry and the discharge of pond waste.

• Survey of potential areas for brackishwater farming and the viability of small scale semi-intensive and intensive shrimp farming practices.

A proposal for the socio-economic study (additional to the Five Year Master Plan) has already been prepared by the FRI according to the format required by BARC, although the document has not yet been approved. This very important research project should be started at the earliest possible opportunity.

Proposals for the remaining eight projects were to have been completed during the second part of this consultancy assignment. However, since the BS is unlikely to be fully operational for a further 30–36 months, the initial research programme has been modified to include only those projects which can be sucessfully completed before the laboratory and experimental facilities of the BS become operational.

The revised initial research programme (excluding the socio-economic study referred to above) now comprises the following projects:

N-07  Identification and evaluation of brackishwater species (other than shrimp) available in Bangladesh with a view to selecting possible candidates for cultivation.

O-01  Survey and assessment of both brackishwater and freshwater shrimp fry resources in Bangladesh.

O-02  Improvement of shrimp fry collection techniques to increase the available quantity and quality of wild fry.

O-03  Limnological studies of brackishwater ponds to determine the impact of salinity changes on the availability of nutrients and dissolved oxygen during the culture season.

O-04  Study of the impact of brackishwater aquaculture development on the mangrove environment and the various activities supported by this resource in the Sunderbans.

O-07  Growth and biological studies on wild Penaeus indicus with a view to assessing the suitability of this species for pond cultivation.

P-03  Improvement of shrimp fry transportation and acclimation techniques to reduce wastage of wild fry and to increase the survival and growth of fry stocked in ponds.

Q-01  Study of the major diseases and parasites affecting brackishwater and freshwater shrimp in relation to water quality management in ponds.

[The numbers preceding the project titles are the project identification codes used in the Five Year Master Plan.]

The individual research proposals (work plans) are included in APPENDIX M. Since the research funding arrangements have been simplified and BARC is no longer required to approve individual projects proposed by FRI, only the following elements are provided:

• Proposal Content and Evaluation Criteria
  Importance and Significance of the Work
  Literature Review
• Purpose and Objectives
• Work Plan Summary
• Methodology and Procedures
• Bibliography

Individual project budgets and detailed manpower schedules have not been included since it is understood that these will be prepared by BS or FRI personnel at a later stage.

Since the individual research proposals should be used in due course as independent and self-supporting documents, there is inevitably a degree of duplication in some sections of the text. This will be evident in the introductions, the reviews of the present status of the shrimp farming industry and the summaries of past and present research activities in Bangladesh.

The other areas of research proposed in the Five Year Master Plan and other documents (Anon, 1986b, 1986d, 1987a, 1987b; Euroconsult BV, 1985; Karim, 1986) should be investigated in the longer term after the BS has become fully operational. When construction of the BS is nearing completion, proposals for these remaining research projects should be prepared. The priorities and scheduling requirements of the various research projects, particularly where there are shared activities of common data requirements, are illustrated in Table 3.

It is recommended that several of the original research projects proposed for the BS are deleted from the Five Year Research Programme. The use of drugs and therapeutic chemicals for controlling and treating shrimp diseases can only be justified economically when shrimps are farmed in highly intensive systems. Since it is extremely unlikely that intensive shrimp culture practices will be introduced into Bangladesh in the foreseeable future, this research proposal should be cancelled. In view of the ambient salinity ranges at Paikgacha, it will not be feasible to operate a penaeid shrimp hatchery using the proposed water supply for the BS nor to culture Artemia in salt pans at Paikgacha.

The hatchery production of penaeid shrimps, cultivation of live food micro-organisms (for penaeid shrimp hatchery use) and Artemia cultivation should therefore be transferred to the MS at Cox's Bazar where the conditions are much more suitable. The survey of potential areas for brackishwater aquaculture in Bangladesh has already been completed by others and should therefore be deleted from the research programme.

Although it is recommended that the penaeid shrimp hatchery and live food micro-organism production projects are transferred to the MS at Cox's Bazar, this does not necessarily mean that the hatchery, spawning, maturation, zooplankton and algal culture facilities are no longer required at the BS. Future research projects on the hatchery production of Macrobrachium spp and brackishwater species of fish will still require such facilities, although these topics may be considered of lower priority. It may therefore be advisable to build the hatchery complex at the BS during a second phase of the construction programme (see Muir, 1989).

The relative state of development and the needs of the shrimp farming industry should be periodically reassessed. This process should certainly be carried out before any subsequent Five Year Research Programme is implemented and preferably before the BS at Paikgacha is commissioned.

Table 3. Proposed schedule for the individual components of the Five Year Research Programme of the Fisheries Research Institute's Brackishwater Station to be built at Paikgacha, Khulna. [Time scale: months.]

* Can start at any time.
* Research proposals not yet prepared.