BSS, Rajshahi :
More than 80 tonnes of fishes were harvested from 196 floating cages in Mohananda river in Chapainawabganj district this year making the fishermen and others concerned happy.
Monosex tilapia fish farming in floating cage method is increasing day by day. By dint of its more profit, the method is gaining ground. The number of fish farmers has been enhanced to a greater extent during last couple of years supplying fishes to different areas.
Anwar Hossain, a farmer of Namorajarampur village, has now become
successful in this field. At present, he is farming fish in 35 cages through investing Taka 35 lakh and making profit of Taka three lakh after every three months.
Hossain says locally many people are coming towards fish farming in cage method. They are making profit economically.
Sirajul Islam, another farmer of Baliadangi village, said he has been farming fish in 20 cages for last one and half years. He invested Taka six lakh and earns at least Taka 50,000 per month.
Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Dr Amimul Ehsan had initiated the venture with 91 cages in 2013 yielding 18 tonnes initially followed by 74.27 tonnes from 182 cages in 2014. Local BGB and police authorities supported the initiative making it successful.
“We have found the potentiality after assessing outcomes of a pilot project of cage fish culture along the Mohananda River, adjacent to the town,” Dr Ehsan added.
He says there is a scope of commissioning of at least 700 to 1000 units in the Padma and Mohananda rivers from where around additional 7,000 to 10,000 tonnes of fish valued at around Taka 100 to 150 crore can be harvested every year.
Farmers are happy with the output of tilapia culture, which requires small time and effort to get results and have a good demand in the market.
The fish species that supplies essential nutrients-in particular vitamin A, calcium, iron and zinc-broods to the rural poor suffering from under-nutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies (‘hidden hunger’).
As an effort to conduct a feasibility study of commercial fish farming in floating cages in the Mohananda River, the project has been initiated ever first in the northwest Bangladesh. Thereby, a demonstrative system of cage fish culture in the flowing river has been established.
With the breakthrough, many unemployed youths, fishermen and local people become encouraged towards such type of income-generating activities. Besides, students and researchers from the concerned departments, colleges and universities avail the scopes of sharing knowledge being learnt from the venture.
As a whole, the intervention is being adjudged as a collective effort of boosting fish production. In addition to the commercial forecast the project has an amusement outlook.
Dr Ehsan said around 10 tonnes of fish valued at around Taka 15 lakh can be harvested from per unit annually if water level remains optimum alongside free from infection of any disease. A farmer can easily make neat profit worth Taka 35,000 with primary investment of Taka four lakh in every month.
Prospect of commercial fish farming in river and different other open water bodies is always bright that can supplement the government effort to boost fish production in the region to meet up its nutritional deficiency. To this end, the policy planners and others concerned should come forward with positive mind. The existing constraints like quality fingerlings and feeds, marketing, management and disease are needed to be addressed immediately to materialize the forecast.
More than 80 tonnes of fishes were harvested from 196 floating cages in Mohananda river in Chapainawabganj district this year making the fishermen and others concerned happy.
Monosex tilapia fish farming in floating cage method is increasing day by day. By dint of its more profit, the method is gaining ground. The number of fish farmers has been enhanced to a greater extent during last couple of years supplying fishes to different areas.
Anwar Hossain, a farmer of Namorajarampur village, has now become
successful in this field. At present, he is farming fish in 35 cages through investing Taka 35 lakh and making profit of Taka three lakh after every three months.
Hossain says locally many people are coming towards fish farming in cage method. They are making profit economically.
Sirajul Islam, another farmer of Baliadangi village, said he has been farming fish in 20 cages for last one and half years. He invested Taka six lakh and earns at least Taka 50,000 per month.
Senior Upazila Fisheries Officer Dr Amimul Ehsan had initiated the venture with 91 cages in 2013 yielding 18 tonnes initially followed by 74.27 tonnes from 182 cages in 2014. Local BGB and police authorities supported the initiative making it successful.
“We have found the potentiality after assessing outcomes of a pilot project of cage fish culture along the Mohananda River, adjacent to the town,” Dr Ehsan added.
He says there is a scope of commissioning of at least 700 to 1000 units in the Padma and Mohananda rivers from where around additional 7,000 to 10,000 tonnes of fish valued at around Taka 100 to 150 crore can be harvested every year.
Farmers are happy with the output of tilapia culture, which requires small time and effort to get results and have a good demand in the market.
The fish species that supplies essential nutrients-in particular vitamin A, calcium, iron and zinc-broods to the rural poor suffering from under-nutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies (‘hidden hunger’).
As an effort to conduct a feasibility study of commercial fish farming in floating cages in the Mohananda River, the project has been initiated ever first in the northwest Bangladesh. Thereby, a demonstrative system of cage fish culture in the flowing river has been established.
With the breakthrough, many unemployed youths, fishermen and local people become encouraged towards such type of income-generating activities. Besides, students and researchers from the concerned departments, colleges and universities avail the scopes of sharing knowledge being learnt from the venture.
As a whole, the intervention is being adjudged as a collective effort of boosting fish production. In addition to the commercial forecast the project has an amusement outlook.
Dr Ehsan said around 10 tonnes of fish valued at around Taka 15 lakh can be harvested from per unit annually if water level remains optimum alongside free from infection of any disease. A farmer can easily make neat profit worth Taka 35,000 with primary investment of Taka four lakh in every month.
Prospect of commercial fish farming in river and different other open water bodies is always bright that can supplement the government effort to boost fish production in the region to meet up its nutritional deficiency. To this end, the policy planners and others concerned should come forward with positive mind. The existing constraints like quality fingerlings and feeds, marketing, management and disease are needed to be addressed immediately to materialize the forecast.
