author(s)
Bipul Kumar Kakati, Kaustubh Bhagawati and Sangipran Baishya

abstract
The wet lands in Assam are highly productive aquatic ecosystems covering over one lakh hectare water spread area. The wetlands are amenable for practicing various forms of fisheries enhancements options including culture based fisheries. Cage aquaculture offers a great scope especially for raising stocking material and effective utilization of available floodplain wetland resources for fisheries enhancement that will lead to significant improvement in the socio-economic status of fishermen. Results of a cage aquaculture experiment conducted in Khelma village of Cachar district Assam to determine the highest growth of fish species in cages are discussed. The cages were rectangular in shape and size of each cage is 4.0 m x 2.5 m x 2.0 m having an effective rearing area of 15 cubic meters. The low cost floating cages were constructed with locally available materials such as PVC drum (220 L), HDPE net, bamboo, rope; nails, etc. Fish fry (length: 1.5-4.0cm; weight: 1.4-4.0g) were stocked in cages at a stocking density of 250fry/m ³ in different species composition. After 60 days of rearing, the highest recovery and survival percentage was recorded in rohu (Labeo rohita) and highest growth rate was recorded in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) that attained an average weight of 98.00 ± 6.42 g. Economics of the cage culture operation was analyzed taking into consideration the costs involved in construction of the cage units and operational costs. A total of Rs. 35,337.00 was earned by the fishers as net income from one battery (i.e. 10 cages) in one batch.