Fisheries dept draws up comprehensive plan for pisciculture development

The department is chalking out plans on how to engage more unemployed rural youth and women in pisciculture through the formation of various self help groups in the villages.The state fisheries department has already been distributing fingerlings to various people free of cost. 

The department has a plan on how to use various ponds, ditches and canals in the districts for the cultivation of fishes.Minister in Charge of the state fisheries department, Chandranath Sinha will visit some places of Sunderbans early next week to inspect the water bodies which could be used for the pisciculture and how more number of people can be engaged into it by forming Self Help Groups. Sinha said that his department is trying to engage more number of unemployed youth and women in pisciculture. 

The main purpose of the new scheme is to cover more number of women in the villages. In the rural parts of South 24 Parganas and other districts, many people have ponds in their premises, many of which remain unutilised. The fisheries department is taking an initiative so that these ponds can be used for fish farming. 

The department will also provide technical assistance to the villagers and also help them to make the ponds favourable for pisciculture. The state government will provide them fingerlings at free of costs.

According to Sinha his department has already been providing fingerlings to the fisher folks encouraging them in the cultivation of fishes.They had a plan to cover maximum number of people through Self Help Groups in the districts. Those who will be given fingerlings will put them in the ponds and after they grow up, they can sell them in the local market.

This will help the people, mostly village women, independent and their economic condition will improve.The department has already taken up a series of schemes in order to promote pisciculture across the state. Mapping of various water bodies in the state has already been done which 

will immensely help the fisheries department to boost the fish farming in the state. 

A comprehensive data has been prepared by the state and through a click of mouse the department

will be able to know the nature and condition of each water body, if they can be used for pisciculture. This will also increase the production of fishes.

“The state fisheries department is taking up many schemes to engage more number of people in the rural areas in the pisciculture by forming self help group. 

“Our department is providing them with fingerlings and extending all technical support to the people in this regard. We will visit Sunderbans in early next week to look into various issues,” Sinha said.