Murrels And Murrel Culture

The snake-head of murrels are a group of air-breathing fishes which by virtue of the presence of accessory respiratory organ, can thrive well in fallow derelict swampy waters normally considered as adverse low oxygen environments condition. Among the different air breathing fishes Channa sp. (murrels) constitute the most common and dominent group. Murrels are highly priced fishes all over the India for their good keeping quality, unique flavour, nutritive, recuperative and medicinal properties especially in Punjab, West Bengal, M.P., and Peninsular India. This group of fishes constitute the mainstay of natural freshwater fisheries in Peninsular India where they are reared in village ponds, irrigation wells and shallow water. Among different murrels which are available in India, the giant murrel (Channa marulius), the stripped murrel (C.straitus) and the spotted murrel (C.Punctatus) are important and commonly available species of which the former two attain a large size and are of economic importance. Because of their hardy nature and capacity to thrive in swamp and derelict waters where Indian major carps can not survive murrels have attracted the attention of pisciculturists, scientists and planners as a candidate species for culture with minimal investment. The major constraint in their culture is the lack of knowledge about their biology, and absence of culture methods is available at present. A sincere attempt has been made in this book to gather information on the bionomics, seed resources of three important species of murrels and their culture viability, this will be definitely an asset to the farmers, scientists and planners alike.