Reproductive characteristics of wild and captive Scale carp, Cyprinus carpio var. communis in Kashmir, India

Abstract

Cyprinus carpio var. communis is a widely distributed fish throughout the world. The fish has also got well adapted in various water bodies of Kashmir and constituted a major fishery here. The demand of the seed of Common carp has been increasing over the years. Domestication of fish seems to be an effective tool to meet the seed demand. However, domestication represents the challenges for aquaculture causing reproductive dysfunctions as per the earlier studies. In this background, current study was undertaken to evaluate the reproductive characteristics of both male and female Common carp, Cyprinus carpio var. communis in farmed and wild environment of Kashmir. Gonad somatic index (GSI) in both the sexes was found higher in wild fishes (female GSI=13.7±3.605; male GSI=7.403±2.01) compared to farmed fishes (female GSI=8.6±3.52; male GSI=6.37±1.5. Significant difference were found in the male GSI (p<0.05) and female GSI (p<0.05) between the two groups (wild and farmed). The average values of absolute and relative fecundity of fish in wild environment were recorded as 68864±35950.29 and 185.96±45.7 respectively. Whereas, in farmed environment, the absolute and relative fecundity was 44533±28572.59 and 115.98±49.25 respectively. Both absolute and relative fecundity significantly varied between the two environments (p<0.01). The results showed that cultured brooders produced more dense milt than wild individuals. In contrast, the milt volume was found higher in wild brooders than in cultured individuals.