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Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri initiated the induced breeding of major carps by administering carp pituitary extract at the erstwhile Pond Culture Division of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Cuttack. This has now become a routine system for most incubators throughout the country.
Initially, H.carpio and Catla catla were also cultured by this method, but later it was thought more productive to utilise hormones for their advanced production.
Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri
The growth of carp culture in India is believed to have started around 1936. Before the interstate exchange of fish seed, farmers used to bring fish seed from Bengal by bullock cart, which is the major hurdle in stocking carps, particularly in rivers other than Ganga. The breeding stocks of some important carps were developed by the inland fisheries department of West Bengal during the 1950s. However, Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri, an alumnus of the Inland Fisheries Department, West Bengal, played an important role in developing induced breeding techniques and gave the downpour to the so-called carp revolution in the country. The Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) started its training program on Carp Culture in 1962, which continues today. Several central and state aquaculturists have graduated from this program. There was a decline in cropping practices after 1980 due to diversion for non-agricultural uses and pollutants. Still, farmer interest returned with establishing several pond-based units and retail outlets for fingerlings. Today, India is the second-largest producer and consumer of aqua products globally.
History and Education
Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri was a biologist and a professor at Auburn University. He was born in the village of Kubajpur, adjacent to the Surma Valley in Sylhet (in present-day Bangladesh), where his father was a civil engineer under the government of British India.
He completed his primary education in Laban Bengali Primary School in Shillong (in present-day Meghalaya) and matriculated from Gomes School in Sylhet. Dr. Chaudhuri graduated from Bangabasi College in Calcutta with a scholarship in 1936. He earned an ISC degree (the university entrance exam in British India) with honours in 1941. He graduated from Ballygunge Science College under the University of Calcutta with an M.Sc. with honours in Zoology in 1943. In 1954, he went to Auburn University for postgraduate training, and under H. S. Swingle, he received his PhD in 1956.
Career
Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri is a well-known name in the field of fisheries science. After studying M.Sc. from London University, he started as a lecturer at Murari Chand College in Sylhet, then migrated to India and joined the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) near Barrackpore on June 1, 1948, as a Junior Research Assistant. He had a special interest in fish breeding and served as the Officer-in-Charge at Cuttack CIFRI centre from 1960-63 and Fish Breeding-in-Charge from 1960-63.
Breeding of Carp
While observing fish floating in the tidal waters of Ganga, Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri noticed that transparent eggs were released when he pressed the fish’s abdomen. He saw that life was transmitted to the eggs shortly after that in a jar. Inspired by these phenomena, he began researching the reproductive processes of carp. As a Senior Research Assistant with the Cuttack Fisheries Laboratory from 1956 until 1971, Chaudhuri published research about fish endocrinology and physiology. He succeeded in the induced breeding of carp species in 1956, which is considered one of the first basic works in zoology. He further continued his research on fish hormones; his work with catfish led him to develop new techniques for hormone injection. In 1958, Chaudhuri succeeded for the first time in hybridising carps by crossing major and minor carps of different genera: Labeo, Cirrhinus, Catla, and Tenualosa.
Hiralal Chaudhuri and the Blue Revolution
Hiralal Chaudhuri and Arun Krishnan are considered the fathers of the Blue Revolution in India. They had the vision to achieve economic prosperity for the country and contribute toward food and nutritional security by utilising water resources for fisheries development. Dr. Chaudhuri’s first successful induced spawning of carp Cirrhinus mrigala in captivity led to an unusual fish culture activity in suburban and rural India, contributing to the prosperity of fish farmers. As of 2017, 454 private carp hatcheries existed in West Bengal, with 22,891 million healthy carp fry (22-26 mm). The state government also owns seven carp hatcheries.
Conclusion
Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri was a biologist, breeder, visionary, and institution builder. In the 1940s and 50s, there were hardly any attempts to develop freshwater aquaculture and almost no research infrastructure on the vast potential of fish breeding. Dr. Chaudhuri had the foresight to think beyond the boundaries of conventional wisdom. The successful development of fish breeds during his tenure at DBT made history. A former President of NASF writes about Dr. Chaudhuri: “He is a true legend who established himself as one of the most prolific fingerling breeders.”
