(A Project for Establishment an International Ecological Aid Centre for food and good ecology in poor countries)

It is proposed to set up an international ecological aid centre, which would produce year-old fry of meliorative fish that could be offered to the less economically developed countries not as direct humanitarian aid, but as real ecological economical equipment. Correct use of such aid offers the recipient state a way to start solving complex technological, ecological and food supply problems within a year, bringing both short-term and long-term benefits to the local economy.

As the produced young fishes are incapable of self-reproduction to eliminate the danger of disturbing ecological balance, this form of aid cannot be stolen, re-sold at markets, transferred by the government to fake organisations or private persons, or otherwise used in corrupt aims. The results of use of such aid can also serve as an indicator of the recipient’s state level of development and its readiness to undertake economical and state reforms.

The main elements of the production technology of the fry of meliorative fish have been developed by the author and can be implemented under technological surveillance.

There are not many living organisms that can be used by humans to selectively filtrate living or dead organic matter from water, as there are few species in the world fauna capable of obtaining their food in this way. Among the most effective meliorative fish are:

• Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
• Marmour or bighead carp (Aristichthis nobilis)
• Grass carp or white amur (Cteopharingodon idella Val.)
• Chinese carp (Mylopharingodon piceus)

An important and, in fact, unique quality of the above-mentioned species is that they are capable of multiple reproductive cycles in one breeding season if the temperature of water is higher. This allows rapid and effective reproduction of the fish with the aim of distribution in different countries, meaning that maximum results can be achieved with minimum financial cost of keeping sire schools.

With the species mentioned above, effective melioration of water reservoirs can be achieved

• Without employing high-cost technological equipment
• Without the necessity for large-scale landscaping schemes
• Without substantial financial expenditure on measures which do not solve the problem in the long-term and soon require the operation to be repeated.

By forming an ichtyocomplex consisting of meliorative fish it is possible to guarantee for a long period the necessary sanitary level of organic matter present in water and to prevent or substantially decrease the rate of pathogenic shellfish and higher plant growth. This can be done by planting an optimum number of fish of a range of ages in a reservoir, incapable of self-reproduction and thus not posing a threat to the ecological balance.

This chapter suggests a strategy that allows to optimise the use of water in breeding fish in closed systems through reducing the amount required and cutting the cost of recycling. The cost of water is reduced through a novel method of removing metabolic products from the reservoir. This method will shortly be patented.

The fry of meliorative fish weighing 5-10g is already capable of performing an initially small-scale meliorative function. At this age the transport of fish to be planted is most economically advantageous.

The fry can be bred in typical hatcheries. With application of polycyclic spawning it is possible to substantially reduce the period of redemption of the equipment cost and increase the term of employment of professional staff, as with traditional technology the premises and equipment are only in use once a year. This is particularly significant for the less economically developed countries where unemployment and food shortages are a serious problem.

The generations of young fishes can be distributed to regions that require melioration, as they are easily transported and adapt readily to new environments. The species can be chosen to suit the specific requirements of the region:

• Grass carp or white amur – to regions requiring control of excessive growth of eichornia and reeds
• Chinese carp – to regions struggling to combat parasitic infections of livestock, the intermediate stage of the development of which are pathogenic shellfish.
• Marmour or bighead carp and Silver carp – to regions where massive algae blooms are observed due to regulation of river discharge, and the water contains much bacterio-, zoo- and phytoplankton.

There are two ways of achieving a meliorative effect:

• Direct planting of meliorative fish into the reservoir and forming an ichtyocomplex by forming of policulture the species mentioned above
• Use of floating cages with fish capable of effective melioration while remaining within the restricted area.

In the first case, the advantage is that the fish can migrate through the reservoir, thus making melioration more effective. However, it is difficult to transport the fish to the next location or catch them to retain for further breeding.

The advantages of the second case are:

• The fish are capable of coordinated circular motion which acts as an injection pump to draw into the cage bacterio-, zoo- and phytoplankton and detritus (suspended particles of bacteria-infected dead organic matter).
• The cage can be installed underwater and remain submerged to maintain the aesthetically pleasing appearance of the reservoir.
• It can be transported to any part of reservoir while semi-submerged
• In temperate climates the fish can winter in the cages under water.

The disadvantages would include the impossibility of forming a policulture, as this method allows cultivation only of meliorative fish (Bighead carp, Silver carp and their hybrids). Also, the relatively low density of planting leads to lower economic results from a set investment of labour and funds.

The suggested technology of breeding meliorative fish as a form of ecological (equipment allows receiving several generations of young in one season, both in warm-water reservoirs used for cooling power stations and in closed systems with the minimum requirement of water. Cultivation of meliorative fish and various hydrobionts in closed or partially closed systems of water supply is suggested as an original technological solution for removing waste products from water, which is more effective than biofiltration though it is compatible with it.

Full or partial integration of the suggested technology of optimising the use of water, ecological filtration of water by biological melioration of reservoirs would have a significant impact on the economical situation of both more and less economically developed countries, while the former would additionally benefit from the fish as a source of food. As the fish do not require external feeding this method is particularly advantageous for countries with a less developed economy.

Also, integration of the technology would lead to establishment of an active international ecological aid centre that would benefit the global economy by responding to countries with particularly severe problems.

Development of this technology on the level of integration of local reservoir melioration projects allows to receive profit from the financial expenditure on the cultivation of meliorative fish comparable in percentage to the average increase in mass by the fish in one season. Taking into account that in tropical countries such as the island of (Kuba) year-old Grass carp can increase its initial mass more than tenfold. (Bagrov, 1984; Bagrov, Chertykhin 1985) Therefore, the initial investment of funds into purchase of young fishes can bring profit well over 300%. As shown by indicators of economic development in the less economically developed countries, no other sphere of industry is capable of bringing profit on a comparable scale.

Therefore, the integration of suggested technology can, with the current legislation, both solve ecological problems and benefit small-scale businesses providing relatively cheap but quality food products.

More intensive involvement of the local population in the process of breeding and growing meliorative fish can be encouraged by stimulating establishment of the respective legislation base in the countries that aim to integrate the suggested technology by the international community.

In the course of the investigation, the following have been completed by the author:

• Research into ovagenesis of the above-mentioned species kept in floating cages under warm-water conditions
• Complex evaluation of the biological qualities relating fish-farming of the sires bred by polycyclic spawning
• Development and industrial testing of a method of determining the readiness of females for spawning in field conditions that indicate the dosage of stimulation injections (Rud’, 1989; 1990).
• Development and patenting of an original system of marking the fish kept in conditions of free migration, in pools or floating cages from kapron netting.
• Publication of over 20 works describing the main elements of industrial testing of multiple reproduction of fish by polycyclic spawning.
• Development of a way of keeping the sire schools after collection of sperm and ova, with survival rates of 60-30% (Rud’, 1989). The industrial testing is currently under way.
• Development of individual filter protecting the hatchery apparatus from pollution that would lower the survival rate of the spawn, migrating embryos and larvae with 96% effectiveness. Industrial testing is in progress
• Development and theoretic grounding of the technology allowing to minimise the use of water in growing the fish in closed or partially closed systems of water supply.
• Development and theoretic grounding of the technology and construction plan for a floating, remote-controlled submergible cage.