Commercial fishery is not an occupation one would normally associate with the people living on the high-ranges of Pathanamathitta.
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The sector, however, looks set to gain a foothold along the forest-fringe villages here, thanks to a novel community initiative.
Starting from September, a group of 100 people from the Scheduled Tribe community in Seethathodu village will open aquaculture farms inside the sprawling reservoir of the Kakki dam in the Sabarimala forests. The initiative, being implemented by the Agency for Development of Aquaculture Kerala, will be expanded to other reservoirs in the district in a phased manner.
According to officials, the project envisages commercial production of fish through cage farming system. As many as 100 cages, each having a length of six meters and a width of four meters, will be set up inside the reservoir. The hives will contain 3000 fish-lings each and the harvest will be held twice in a year.
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“The fish harvested from the dam will be sold through the stalls to be opened through the stalls to be opened by the Matsyafed under the brand name ‘Konni Fish’,” said K.U. Janeesh Kumar, Konni MLA.
The Seethathodu panchayat and the Forest Department had been tasked to identify the beneficiaries of the project, who would be receiving a daily income of ₹400 and proceeds from the fish sales, he added.
The Fisheries Department will provide the farmers technical guidance and the logistical support for transporting fish to the local market.
As part of implementing the project, a meeting of the project monitoring committee comprising of Fisheries, Panchayat, Forest, KSEB, and Dam Safety sections was held here the other day. The committee, led by the MLA, also conducted a joint inspection of the reservoir to determine the locations for depositing the cages.
Officials said the farms were expected to fetch around 125 tonnes of fish in the first phase.