Floodplain fish farming gains popularity in Rajshahi
Friday, 12 September 2008
RAJSHAHI, Sept 11 (BSS): Floodplain fish farming has been gaining popularity in different areas of the district for the last couple of years as the system has enormous prospect of enhancing fish productivity.
Fish farmers have been utilising the existing potentialities in floodplain fishery in a planned way through using modern system and, for long, they were habituated in capture fishery in the floodplain instead of the culture one.
District Fisheries Officer Aminul Haque said that Altaf Hossain, a teacher of Nandas College under Baghmara Upazila, had initiated fish farming in a floodplain area adjacent to Coler Beel under the same Upazila and earned a net profit of Tk 0.9 million (0.9 lakh) after selling 80 tonnes of harvested fish from the Beel in last year.
Responding to the initiative, some 330 unemployed youths and fish farmers constituted 'Fishermens' Cooperative Society' and launched fish farming in other floodplains creating a much enthusiasm in this field.
Mohanpur Upazila Fisheries Officer Saidur Rahman informed that community-based fish farming has been started in the 3,640-hectare beels and floodplains here and people's participation has been ensured in the activities.
He said the floodplain fish cultivation has been contributing a lot in making the fish farmers free from poverty side by side with their socio-economic development.
"We have no alternative to bring the floodplains, both the public and private, for enhancing fish production to meet the gradually increasing nutritional demand as the ponds have already been saturated with the modern fish cultivation", Divisional Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries Shawkat Ali said.
Fish farmers have been utilising the existing potentialities in floodplain fishery in a planned way through using modern system and, for long, they were habituated in capture fishery in the floodplain instead of the culture one.
District Fisheries Officer Aminul Haque said that Altaf Hossain, a teacher of Nandas College under Baghmara Upazila, had initiated fish farming in a floodplain area adjacent to Coler Beel under the same Upazila and earned a net profit of Tk 0.9 million (0.9 lakh) after selling 80 tonnes of harvested fish from the Beel in last year.
Responding to the initiative, some 330 unemployed youths and fish farmers constituted 'Fishermens' Cooperative Society' and launched fish farming in other floodplains creating a much enthusiasm in this field.
Mohanpur Upazila Fisheries Officer Saidur Rahman informed that community-based fish farming has been started in the 3,640-hectare beels and floodplains here and people's participation has been ensured in the activities.
He said the floodplain fish cultivation has been contributing a lot in making the fish farmers free from poverty side by side with their socio-economic development.
"We have no alternative to bring the floodplains, both the public and private, for enhancing fish production to meet the gradually increasing nutritional demand as the ponds have already been saturated with the modern fish cultivation", Divisional Deputy Director of the Department of Fisheries Shawkat Ali said.