Focus on inland fish culture

It has great scope for profit, Collector tells entrepreneurs

Tiruvarur Collector M. Mathivanan inspecting inland fish culture gadgets on display at fisheries mela in Mannargudi on Tuesday.

Inland fish culture offers great scope for profitable revenue generation in Tiruvarur district where the potential is yet to be harnessed fully, Collector M. Mathivanan exhorted entrepreneurs at the Fisheries Mela held here on Tuesday.

Addressing the mela organised by the State Department of Fisheries and the National Fisheries Development Board to create awareness of inland fish culture prospects among the public, he said modern gadgets have come in large numbers to facilitate inland fish culture; besides nutritive fish feed that facilitate bountiful harvest could enhance the revenue from aquaculture practices.

Tapping the market potential of inland fish and value addition were challenging areas where increased concentration would give profitable returns to fish culture entrepreneur in Tiruvarur district. Finding markets in nearby districts was a viable option that could be explored with confidence, he said.

In Tiruvarur district, inland fish culture was practiced in 650 ponds spread over 520 hectares. More than 1,165 farm ponds have been excavated in this district in the past three years and they offered huge potential for inland fish culture, he said.

Joint Director of Fisheries M. Subburaj opined that a huge scope existed in inland fish culture as farm ponds, village ponds and other possible secure water bodies offered potential sites for taking up fish culture in this district. Inland fish culture offered an avenue for a remunerative venture and the Department of Fisheries had been promoting it by offering schemes tailor-made for energetic entrepreneur. Banks were offering adequate support through lending at promising rates, he said.

Speakers discussed various State and Central government schemes for taking up inland fish culture, subsidies available, credit facilities extended by lending institutions. Fish farmers raised issues pertaining to market potential for specific varieties of fish reared in inland culture and got solutions for them. Search for newer markets was a constant desire by fish culture practitioners to ensure better returns, they said.

Assistant Director of Fisheries K. Thirunavukkarasu, Fisheries Inspector M. Kadiresan, officials from NABARD and banking institutions as also representatives of various organisations involved in inland fish culture gadget manufacturing and marketing spoke.