With new techniques, fish rearing picks up in Una

UNA, NOVEMBER 29

With the introduction of the latest techniques, fish rearing is gradually becoming a profession in Una district and about 300 farmers have opted for earning livelihood this way on 60,000 sq m of land.

Assistant Director of the Fisheries Department Vivek Sharma said the department has set up a modern fish hatchery, fingerling rearing and fish feed making facility at Deoli village of Gagret subdivision, enabling fish farmers practical demonstration and access to fish fingerlings and feed.

Farmers are given subsidy on the new project layout to the extent of 60 per cent for the Scheduled Caste and 30 per cent for the general caste beneficiaries under Central and state funding. Reshma Devi, a resident of Chowkin Maniar village of Bangana subdivision used to earn her livelihood by stitching clothes, while her husband Subhash Chand used to till small landholding. In the year 2018, Reshma Devi began fish rearing on 600 sq m land. After she got success in 2021, she took advantage of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matasya Sampada Yojna’ and increased the pondage capacity to 1,000 sq m.

Reshma Devi was introduced to the Bio Flock Technology (BFT) in which microbes are added to the water to convert fish excreta into proteins, thereby making the water clean and preventing frequent change of water. Eventually, when the water has to be changed, the used water contains high amount of nitrogen and other elements, which can be used to irrigate fields, giving better crop yield than the normal water.

Subhash Chand said the project, including the cost of BFT, was worth Rs 14 lakh, for which they had received a 60 per cent subsidy amounting to Rs 8.4 lakh. This year, he said they harvested seven tons of fish, which fetched them Rs 10 lakh. He said they rear different varieties of carp fish and the average fish weighs around 500 grams, fetching them a good price.

Sharma said the BFT is used for intensive fish cultivation and the harvest is about 10 times that reared from an earthen pond.