Wallago Attu or boal fish farming Business is not popular or common among the fish farmers, though it is cultured commercially mainly in the areas where it is highly available. Before ten years it was cultured in the pond, a lake with other carp fish species, but recently boal fish farming business is getting popular because of its high market demand.
It is a fast-growing catfish species that has good demand in the local and international market as a food fish as having high nutritional value. This fish species is also familiar with some other names like Boal, wallago, wallagonia attu, borali, etc.
Boal fish is generally a freshwater fish species and this fish species is widely distributed in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
The boal fish naturally can be found in freshwater lakes, swamps,s or in large rivers. But with the help of modern aquaculture science, you can raise the fish commercially in farms like big tanks, cages, or using biofloc fish farming system, and you will definitely be able to make a good profit. Because both demand and prices of the boal fish are high in the market.
The boal fish farming business are often commercially vital, because its price and demand both are very high within the Asian market (where the fish is available). So you’ll easily use your existing pond for starting boal fish farming business.
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Description Of The Species
The elongated fish body is laterally compressed. Its eyes are small and mouth is wide, its gape extends posteriorly to beyond eyes. Barbels are normally two pairs; among them, the maxillary pair is long and broad posteriority to well beyond the origin of the anal fin and the inframaxillary pair is much shorter, about as long as the snout. The abaxial fin is short and the pectoral spine is weak.
Fish body-color grayish or flavescent-grey in above and whitish in below but the fins grey. Roughly, the maximum length of the fish is about 1.86 meters. The species can attain 20 cm in total length and weight more than 45 kg.
How To Start Boal Fish Farming
Starting boal fish farming business is just like as Carp fish, Pabda or Chital fish farming. If you have any idea about starting any other fish farming business then you can start Boal fish farming business commercially, though the beginners can also start this business easily.
Here we are describing more information about starting commercial boal fish farming business easily.
1. Business Plan
A good business plan is half of the success of any project. Remembering this you have to make a well-defined business plan on Boal fish farming. Your business plan must be consisting of the most important three components which are business model, operational model, and financial projections. If all of these are defined rightly then you can start your boal fish farming business project, and you have to follow it strictly.
2. Site Selection
After getting a proper business plan you must have to select a very good site for starting boal fish farming business. For selecting a site you must follow some criteria. It will be better if your selected site is far from the residential areas and also free from all types of noises and pollution. But the site may not be a fully sunny area like Rui, or Grass carp fish farming site.
3. Pond Design And Construction
Pond design and earthen pond construction is not an easy matter for commercial fish farming. So you have to consider the important point on earthen pond design and construction. After selecting a good site you have to construct a pond. Generally, the earthen pond is rectangular and well dike system, though you can cultivate boal fish in tank, or cage. The size of the pond depends on your availability of land, but for commercial fish production, an earthen pond with at least one-acre land will be better. Natural earthen ponds are considered as good for boal fish farming business.
4. Pond Preparation
Proper pond preparation leads a better fish production for the commercial boal fish farming business. Watering the pond, greening the pond, creating natural feed in the pond all are included in pond preparation.
Though the boal fish are fed on external feeds, they are also known as predator fish. All small fishes in the pond become a feed of them. But you don’t have too much worry much about preparing the pond. Just desexualizing the pond and filling it with water will be good.
5. Seed Collection
For a commercial boal fish farming business, you can collect the seeds either from natural sources or from hatcheries. There are some suppliers around you. So you can contact your nearest fisheries institute for more information about the seed availability. Rupali Fish Hatchery, Modhumoti Fish Hatchery, and Indiamart are well-known boal fish seed suppliers.
In the case of natural breeding, the rainy season is the breeding period of Wallago Attu fish. They normally lay eggs in July to August. They lay eggs in both bound and open water reservoirs in freshwater.
6. Rearing Fingerlings And Stocking
Naturally Boal seeds or fingerlings are very strong. After pond preparation, this is why the boal fish fingerlings are generally stocked directly into the main pond. So you don’t have to worry about rearing the fingerlings and management. You can stock the fingerlings directly into the main pond. Stocking density can be 15,000 to 20,000 fingerlings per acre.
7. Feeding
Wallago Attu fish is very Phalacrocorax carbo and carnivorous. They eat different types of small fish and small animals from water. Baby boal fishes generally eat various types of tiny fish and insects that they get easily. This fish generally eat feed at night. Though they eat the rotten body or trash fish of a dead animal, for commercial boal fish farming business you have to supply feed properly. Due to their carnivorous and predatory nature, they are also known as freshwater sharks.
8. Monitoring
Boal fish farming business is getting popular, but in commercial boal fish farming, you have to remember many things like proper pond management, fish management, disease control, weight monitoring, proper feed supply, water treatment, etc. all these are monitoring and proper management of the fish farming project. Mainly the success of your farm will depend on proper management.
9. Harvesting
Generally, carp or other fishes are harvested after 7 to 10 months, and boal fish generally matured in 10 to 12 months but to get better boal fish you have to wait for 2 or 3 years. After 2 or 3 years boal fishes become 20 to 25 kg. But if you want you can start harvesting the boal fish when they reach your desired size. We generally suggest harvesting after 9 to 11 months for commercial boal fish farming. You can use both the net and drain harvesting systems for harvesting boal fish.
10. Marketing
Marketing is the most important step for a commercial project. As a commercial fish farmer, you have to analyze the market price and market demand. You can send them in the town market to get a better price, considering cost-benefit analysis of marketing.
This fish are in general sold live and fresh in the market, so try to send the fish in the market as soon as possible after harvesting.
How do you catch Wallago Attu?
To fish for our wallago attu, squid is one among the higher baits. Like all our fish, plumb the depth and find the deep channels that frolic the plateaus. By pulling a lead slowly across rock bottom, find a silted area, and fish during this area with a bait that’s beginning to explode and smell.
Is Boal fish good for health?
Health benefits of oily fish. Oily fish is rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are shown to scale back inflammation and potentially lower the danger of heart condition, cancer, and arthritis. Both white and oily fish are good sources of lean protein.
