State to use Bengal Fish Fest for catering to fish-loving Bengalis residing in other cities

Kolkata: The state Fisheries department will use the platform of the three-day Bengal Fish Fest to rope in exporters for catering to the huge demand of fishes among Bengalis settled in different parts of the country.

The fifth edition of the Bengal Fish Fest will be held at Nalban Food Park from January 10 to 12.

"A large number of Bengalis are settled in different places across the country for eking out a living and fish is something that they miss on their food menu. The demand is very much there and the state produces enough fish. So, if the export chain can be developed then we can reach these fish-loving Bengalis. We will hold discussions with exporters so that fishes that are cultivated in our waterbodies can be processed and sent to these people," said a senior official of the state Fisheries department.

Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad are some of the places where the IT sector is dominated by Bengalis. The state government has produced 14.359 lakh tonnes of fishes through cultivation in waterbodies spread across 3,45,817 hectares in the 2018-19 financial year.

The main aim of the event is to promote Benfish and State Fisheries Department Corporation (SFDC) and educate the fish cultivators about the latest technological inventions in the fisheries sector for augmenting production.

The Fish Fest will also provide an opportunity to Sea Food and Fishery Industry leaders, entrepreneurs and service providers to showcase their products, services, technologies and their benefits to the participants and users in the sector/industry.

"There will be government-to-business meet in the form of seminars and discussions, where we will highlight the potential areas of investment and will encourage the industries to forge partnerships with Benfish or SFDC," the official added.

There will also be a two-day culinary show, along with competition on various fish preparations with participation from various hotels and restaurants on the first day and with participation from individuals with their special prepared recipes on the second day.