Cage Culture Technique

CAGE CULTURE
INTRODUCTION
FISH CAN BE CULTURED IN ONE OF FOUR CULTURE
SYSTEMS
• Pond culture (system based on earthern ponds)

• Raceways culture (tanks with minimal water use)
• recirculating culture (reused water in tanks)
• Cage culture
• A cage or net pen is a system that confines the fish or shellfish

in a mesh enclosure placed in ponds rivers, lakes and oceans.
• By strict definition, a cage and a net pen differ based on their

construction.
• A cage has a completely rigid frame (on all sides) and a net pen
has a rigid frame only around the top.
• Marine cages are often called net pens, even though they
have completely rigid frames, and vice versa.
• Cage culture uses existing water resources (ponds, rivers,

estuaries, open ocean, etc.) but confines the fish inside
some type of mesh enclosure.
• The mesh retains the fish, making it easier to feed,

observe and harvest them.
• The mesh also allows the water to pass freely between the
fish and surrounding water resource, thus maintaining
good water quality and removing wastes.
Fish feed added
Cage to cage
moored to
bottom of
ocean
Floating tubes
Faecal matter
CULTIVABLE SPECIES
Criteria for selecting fish for use in enclosures:
 Value of fish and market demand
 Hardiness (in terms of ability to adjust to high density culture,

disease and handling).
 Ready availability of fish seed or juvenile fish for stocking
 Fast growth in confined waters
 Availability of suitable feeds

BRACKISH WATER SPECIES FOR CAGE
CULTURE
• Milkfish
• Sea bass
• Mullets
• Sea eel
• Crustacean
• crabs.
• Chrysichthys mgrodigitratus and C. walkeri
TYPES OF CAGES
1. Floating cages
2. Mid-water cages with buoyed "feeding neck"
3. Bottom cages
4. Single and multiple units
5. Rigid and flexible cages
6. Self-supporting and raft-supported cages

CAGE CULTURE
 Site selection
 Supply of seed
 Stock density
 management
CAGE CONSTRUCTION
 Framework; materials used (wood, bamboo, galvanized
scaffolding, aluminium, etc.); support and lifting ropes;
frameless cages; shape of net.
 Walls, bottom and roof; mesh netting of natural fiber,
synthetic fiber, galvanized chain-link or galvanized weld
mesh; site fouling tests with different materials to select
the material most suited to the area.
 Flotation structure: use of rigid collars of metal or plastic
(air-filled, foam-filled or fiber-filled), discrete buoys or
polydrums.
 Linkage of multiple units.
 Mooring and anchoring.
 Construction of water breaking structures.
 Shapes and dimensions; determination of shape and size in relation to

hydrographical conditions, species to be stocked, stocking rate,
production target, etc.; relative merits and demerits of large and small
cages.
Maintenance of Cages
Keep Algae from clogging cages
with push broom and
extendable handle
Replace leaking or damages
floats
Keep bottom of cages at least 2
feet off the bottom
No swimming around cages
Off season power wash
Harvesting Cages
Deeper than width easier

to harvest on shore
Can use pole and pulley to
winch up cage for dipping
Do not lift cage
completely out of water
with fish in it!
ADVANTAGES OF CAGE CULTURE
1: Resource use flexibility

Established on suitable body of water, including Lakes, ponds,
mining pits, streams or rivers with proper water quality, access
and legal authority. This flexibility makes it possible to exploit
underused water resources to produce fish. (Specific state laws
may restrict the use of public waters for private fish production).
2: Low initial investment
Relative to the cost of pond construction and its associated
infrastructure (electricity, roads, water wells, etc.), cage culture
in an existing body of water can be inexpensive. At low
densities (relative to pond surface acreage) cages often do not
require aeration or any electrical source.
3: Simplified cultural practices
The observation of fish behavior, especially feeding
behavior, is critical to anticipating and avoiding
problems. With stress and diseases, which often occur in
cage culture.
4: Simplified harvesting
Cages are usually harvested by moving them into
shallow water, crowding the fish into a restricted area,
and simply dipping the fish out of the cage. Or, the cage
can be lifted partially out of the water and then the fish
dipped out.
5: Multi-use of water resources
The confinement of fish in cages should not hinder other
uses of the water resource, such as fishing, boating,
swimming, irrigation or livestock watering. These
advantages are appealing, particularly the low capital
investment required. A farmer could try producing fish
in an existing pond or other water resource with minimal
financial or environmental risk. If successful, the farmer
could expand production with additional cages or
intensify production by increasing aeration or fish
densities.
DISADVANTAGES OF CAGE CULTURE
1: Complete diets needed
Feed must be nutritionally complete and kept fresh. Caged fish
will get no natural food and so depend on the manufactured diet
for all essential nutrition. Feed must provide all necessary
proteins (down to specific amino acids), carbohydrates, fats
(including essentially fatty acids), vitamins and minerals for
maximum growth. Nutrients start to deteriorate quickly when
exposed to heat and moisture.
2: Diseases:
Diseases are a common problem in cage culture and they can
cause catastrophic losses. Wild fish around the cage can transmit
diseases to the caged fish. The crowding in cages promotes
stress and allows disease organisms to spread rapidly.
3: Water quality problem
Localized water quality problems, particularly low
dissolved oxygen, are common in cage culture. The high
fish densities, along with the high feeding rates, often
reduce dissolved oxygen and increase ammonia
concentration in and around the cage, especially if there is
no water movement through the cage. Low dissolved
oxygen within cages may not affect other organisms in the
lake, pond or stream.
4: Vandalism and poaching

Caged fish are an easy target for poachers and vandals.
Cages must be placed where access can be controlled and
poaching risks reduced.
5: Limited production
Fewer pounds of fish per acre are produced in cages than
in open pond culture systems. This is mostly because of
the stress associated with fish density, the poorer
localized water quality, and the increased incidence of
disease.
6: Predation
Predation can be a problem if cages are not constructed
or managed properly. , snakes, otters, raccoons and fish-
eating birds will take fish or damage cages unless
precautions are taken.
7: Overwintering problems
It is difficult to overwinter warm-water fish in cages.

There is usually a high mortality rate because of
bacterial and fungal diseases
Why Cage Culture?
Low initial
investment vs.
other systems
Grow out fish in a
body of water that
is not practical to
drain
Spawn bluegills
and yellow perch
Why Cage Culture (Cont.)
Separate broodfish
sexes
Separate sizes and
age classes
Hold fish for sale i.e.
Grass Carp
Grow out small fish
that would be eaten
in the open pond
Feed train fish on
pellets
Species that can be cage cultured
Bluegill
Yellow Perch
Largemouth Bass
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Species that can be cage cultured
(Cont.)
Smallmouth Bass
Hybrid Striped Bass
Carp
Tilapia
Channel Catfish
Bullheads
Carrying Capacity of Cages
Novice should keep
densities low
Keep in mind
carrying capacity of
pond
Publications show up
to 15 lbs. per cubic
foot
Personally would
never go above 3 lbs.
per cubic foot
Rules of Thumb
Must have cover on cage
Provide shade on up to
half of cage to reduce
stress
Feed high quality diet
Overwintering can be
problematic
Large mature fish and
fish not originally grown
out in cages get stressed
THANKS

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CAGE CULTURE

• Pond culture (system based on earthern ponds)

• A cage or net pen is a system that confines the fish or shellfish

• By strict definition, a cage and a net pen differ based on their

• Cage culture uses existing water resources (ponds, rivers,

• The mesh retains the fish, making it easier to feed,

 Hardiness (in terms of ability to adjust to high density culture,

 Ready availability of fish seed or juvenile fish for stocking

 Fast growth in confined waters

 Availability of suitable feeds

2. Mid-water cages with buoyed "feeding neck"

4. Single and multiple units

5. Rigid and flexible cages

6. Self-supporting and raft-supported cages

 Construction of water breaking structures.

 Shapes and dimensions; determination of shape and size in relation to

Deeper than width easier

1: Resource use flexibility

4: Vandalism and poaching

It is difficult to overwinter warm-water fish in cages.

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