Mayena in East Midnapore to become fisheries hub

Very soon in the future, not too far away from Kolkata, Mayena block in East Midnapore, will be the state's largest fisheries hub.

This will bring down the quantity of fish which the state brings from Andhra Pradesh every year which is around 1.5 lakh metric tonne.

The idea to convert the area into a major fishery hub has been generated by Chief minister Mamata Banerjee. At the administrative review meeting of East Midnapore which was held in Digha last week, Banerjee urged senior officials of the Fisheries department to conduct a study of fish farming which is being carried out in the area recently.

Accordingly, principal secretary of Fisheries department Sunil Gupta, Dibyendu Sarkar, commissioner, Panchyats and Rural Development department in charge of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme, Nirmal Bangla Mission etc, director of Fisheries and senior officials of East Midnapore district administration on Tuesday made an on the spot survey in the area. The state Irrigation and Waterways department will prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to find out ways and means to bring water from rivers Rupnarayan and Kansabati. The officials who visited Mayena on Tuesday said the area has a potential to produce 60,000 to 70,000 metric tonne of fish annually. If this is done, then the quantity of fish brought from Andhra Pradesh will be greatly reduced.

Over the past few years, Mayena block in East Midnapore underwent a major change after paddy cultivation was replaced by fish farming. Pisciculture is now being carried out on 3,600 hectare of waterbody which used to be farmland. The farmers are leasing out their land to fishermen at the rate of Rs 900/ decimal land as lease rent per annum. There is a village committee where the farmers are members and the committee floats tenders to distribute the land among fishermen. The land is leased out for three years to five years. It has been found that by producing paddy, the farmers used to get anything between Rs 300 and Rs 400 from per decimal land per year. Thus, by leasing out the land, they are getting more money.

The fish farmers carry out pisciculture in the waterbodies with the help of rain and river water. But with rain water, fish farming can be carried out for 7 to 8 months and the average weight of fishes vary anything between 500 gram and 750 gram. The officials felt that if water can be supplied throughout the year, then fishes with proper weight can be produced.

The officials said with the funds available from MGNREGA, the canal network will be improved. The DPR will study the ways and means to bring water from river Rupnarayan and Kansabati. They said within the next few years, Mayena is going to come up as a major fisheries hub in the state.