It is not an irony that water is the most abundant resource yet limited in supply. According to statistics, Earth mainly consists of water. Around 71 percent of the Earth surface is made up of water, and oceans account for about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water. It can be deduced from above that less than 3.5 percent of total surface water is fresh enough for fresh water fish production. As a matter of fact, fresh water is everything in both natural and artificial fish production. Among three important factors of catfish production (Breed, Feed and Water), water is most important. The reason for this is not far-fetched. Catfish live, feed, breathe, reproduce and exist in fresh water environment only.
Due to limited supply of fresh water, and for the fact that fresh water is not evenly distributed (both ground and surface water), there is need to manage this scarce resource well. A catfish farmer, whose business is water based, must learn the art and science of water management techniques that suit his budget and environment. To this end, various water management systems with their merits and demerits are discussed in this article.