Production and utilization of frogs: an ecological view

Abstract

The frog producing area in India has been doubled (23–51 million ha) during the last 30 years, while the frog harvest has also been consistently increased by the biology education (3–18 million frogs) and export (17–60 million frogs) sectors. The carrying capacity of the irrigated land is in the range of 28 frogs/ha and a 7% harvest of the population may represent the optimal utilization. Frogs do control agricultural pests but not vectors like mosquitoes. A ban on the frog export from India would mean the loss of not only a revenue of 10 million US dollars/annum but also the jobs for 0–16 million villagers. The need for development of mass culturing techniques of tadpoles, juvenile frogs and ranching of frogs is emphasized.