COMMON CARP ADAPTABILITY (CIPRYINUS CARPIO) TO REARING IN FLOATING FISH CAGES INSTALLED IN IRRIGATION CANAL

Veta Nistor, D. Mirea, Liliana Blondina Athanasopoulos, Magdalena Tenciu, Dorina Brânză

Abstract
   With the increases of world fish consumption and stagnation of wild fish catches, the contribution of aquaculture to world fish production has steadily increased from 25.7% in 2000 to 46.8% in 2016. Integration of aquaculture in irrigation canals, respectively dual use of the same water, first for fish production and later for irrigation is a relatively new technological concept, used to maximize the efficiency of water use, by designing and locating removable installations and establishing technologies for rearing fish in small bodies of water (irrigation canals). The CM LUNCA irrigation canal on which the experiment took place was artificially built in 1969 and serves a very large agricultural area; is part of the irrigation network of Covurlui Plain and is managed by A.N.I.F., Southern Moldova branch. The irrigation system of which C.M.L. is part of, consists of the main pumping station SPA Dunărea, 6 pumping stations SPR, 21 pressure stations SPP, 37 canal motor pumps, 126 km irrigation canals. The Lunca Magistral Canal has a length of 19240 m and stretches from km 78.4 of the Danube from where it makes its outlet, passes behind Lake Brateș and reaches close to Vânători commune. The Danube pumping station is the main station of the Covurlui Plain (S.P.A.) subsystem and takes the water from the Danube river through the gravitational outlet with a flow of 54 mc/s. The distribution of water on the canals is ensured by the main dam, which has three openings with cofferdam and flat dams. The water from the C.M.L. currently irrigates only 5566 ha, located on the first terrace (surface that requires about 3m/s), and the surplus is intended for the upper terraces, which require a pumping height Hp = 90m. The adaptation of the carp species to rearing in floating fish cages from the CM Lunca canal was made in a time interval between 3 and 7 days from the population of the ponds, at a density of 150 ex/m³ and a distance from the crown of the dam between 17,5m and 30,5m.