ZCZC
BSS-04
FISH-FARMING-RAJSHAHI (with picture)
Fish farming becomes boon for many in Rajshahi
RAJSHAHI, Aug 28, 2020 (BSS) – A silent revolution has happened in fish farming during the last couple of years generating employment for around 2.88 lakh people in the district.
The district, besides, has clinched the top position in terms of supplying around 140 to 150 trucks of live fishes valued around Taka two crore to different districts including the capital Dhaka every day at present.
There are scores of ponds on 13,050 hectares of land producing 84,000 tonnes of fishes every year besides creating new job opportunities for around 1.30 unemployed youths.
District Fisheries Officer Alok Kumar Shaha said many people are becoming self-reliant through fish farming as Rajshahi is the suitable place for the farming since immemorial time. Paddy-cum fish farming and cage culture during monsoon has been gaining popularity.
He said Rajshahi is the pioneer in the field of supplying live fishes to different parts in the country including the capital Dhaka.
Sadiqul Islam, 54, a commercial fish farmer in Paba Upazila, had started fish farming in a small pond in 2007. Now, he has ponds in 180 bigha of land. Islam said fish farming is a profitable business and the live fish trading is more profitable and lucrative than the dead ones.
Ershad Ali, 47, another fish farmer of Shilmaria village under Puthiya Upazila, said many more people are coming towards fish farming business as it’s very profitable. Many of the landowners are now being seen excavating new ponds for leasing those out to the fish farmers.
Ali told BSS that Taka 20,000 to Taka 30,000 is the present lease value for one bigha pond. Anyone can produce fish valued at around Taka 1.5 lakh to Taka 2 lakh easily if he cultivates fish after the best uses of modern technologies.
Amzad Hossain, a fish farmer of Keshorehat village in Mohanpur upazila, alone produced 30.25 tonnes of fish worth around Taka 44.25 lakh making a net profit of Taka 15 lakh in 2019.
Through ensuring quality, he collects eggs from government hatchery and rivers and breeds fishes from the eggs by himself. At the initial stage, he got training from the Upazila Fisheries Office on fish farming.
He said several hundreds of new large ponds have been excavated where fishes are being cultivated commercially.
Divisional Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries Tofazuddin Ahmed Rajshahi division has attained significant success in fish spawn and fish fingerling production which are also surplus than the existing demand.
He said the region has also attained the success of 71,443 tonnes of surplus fish production in comparison to the existing demands.
The farmers have harvested 4.76 lakh tonnes of fish from 4.03 lakh hectares of different categories of water-bodies in last fiscal against the demand of 4.04 lakh tonnes of around 1.92 crore people in the division this year.
Ahmed mentioned that the success has been attained due to the adoption of multidimensional development and extension programs including promotion of modern technologies.
Fish farming is making many people financially solvent along with boosting their social dignity and contributing to meeting the demand for animal protein of the region besides different other parts of the country.
In order to boost fish production in the country’s internal water-bodies, stock of around 1.04 lakh metric tonnes of fish fingerlings has been arranged in different water-bodies at a cost of around Taka 15.62 crore benefiting 6.84 lakh fish farmers.
Besides, beel nursery on 1,370.06 hectares of water-bodies has been installed at a cost of around Taka 2.80 crore benefitting 58,984 fish-growers contributing a lot to boosting carp fishes in internal water bodies.
BSS/SPL/AH/MR/MMA/1237hrs