Induced Breeding of Freshwater Fishes and Cost Benefit Analysis of a Selected Fish Hatchery in Jashore, Bangladesh

An investigation was carried out to know the induced breeding techniques of some firewater fish species such as rui (Labeo rohita), catla (Catla catla), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), sharpunti (Puntius sarana) and bata (Labeo bata) at Ma Fatima Fish Hatchery in Chanchra, Jashore, Bangladesh. The cost-benefit analysis was also performed on this hatchery for three months from May to July, 2016. The brood fishes purchased from different local sources were used for spawning. The hatchery mainly practiced induced breeding by maintaining proper age and weight of brood stock during spawning. The ranges of fertilization and hatching rates of the experimental fishes were 80.04±1.44 % to 94.35±0.54% and 75.34±3.49% to 88.68±2.76%, respectively. Total spawn production was 960, 862 and 734 kg, and the total revenue income from spawn sell was BDT 2,883,500, 2,355,100 and 1,844,800 (BDT 85 = 1 US$) in May, June and July, respectively. Estimated capital cost was BDT 87,90,000, while the operating costs were BDT 1,810,650; 1,555,105 and 1,267,680 in May, June and July, respectively. The calculated cost-benefit ratios in May, June and July were 1.59, 1.51 and 1.46, respectively. The hatchery got the highest net profit of BDT (Bangladeshi Taka) 1,041,906 in May due to the highest production and higher price of spawn, and the lowest profit of BDT 546,176 was obtained in July. So, May was found to be the peak breeding month of Ma Fatima Hatchery. The estimated cost-benefit ratio indicated that the spawn production through induced breeding techniques was profitable for the hatchery owners.