Recent Development in Pond Aquaculture in the Yangtze River Basin, China: A Review

The Yangtze River basin is the most important aquaculture region in China, producing more than 12 million tons of freshwater-culture products in 2012, which accounted for about 56% of the domestic freshwater-culture production. This presentation referred to aspects of pond aquaculture in the Yangtze River basin, mainly including the following contents: (1) pond area and distribution and commercially important species; (2) pond preparation and bottom soil treatments; (3) quality seed and rational stocking; (4) use of chemical and organic fertilizers to increase the pond productivity; (5) use of certificated feed and feeding management; (6) management of water quality; (7) fish health management; (8) pond culture modes, production and cost-benefit analyses; and (9) evaluation of environmental influence of pond drainage for harvest.