Fish production in NE to be doubled by 2020
SHILLONG, Sept 11 – The Centre is planning to double the fish production in North-eastern region and aims at increasing its per capita availability to 15 kg by 2020. “We have a daunting task of achieving
Fisheries
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Biggest fisheries Harbour for Dikowita
The biggest Fisheries Harbour in the country will be built in Dikowita. Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Felix Perera and his officials visited the proposed project site with Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral on Wednesday. Minister Perera told the Daily News that the proposed harbour will help to promote tuna fish exports. Perera said this project was planned several years back but it is finally being implemented under the direction of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Central Bank Governor has taken a keen interest in the project, he said. The area of the harbour is 13 hectares. It will have facilities for 20 trawlers and all other requirements for multi-day fishing trawlers including anchoring facilities 1,150 meters in the sea. The minister said the proposed Dikowita Fishery Harbour will be the biggest in the region and construction will be completed in two years. He appealed for the cooperation of all fishermen to achieve that target. Governor Cabraal said if Sri Lanka's ocean region is utilised economically and correctly Sri Lanka would achieve its development target very shortly. The Dikowita Fisheries Harbour Project is funded by the Netherlands Government which has provided Rs 80,000 million.
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GRE demands govt action against illegal fishing
Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott today strongly demanded action from the government against what it called illegal fishing activities by outsiders in Goan territorial waters. A large delegation led by GRE called on Fisheries Minister Joaquim Alemao highlighting the illegalities of the
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Lack of quality seeds hits prawn production
During this biting cold what can be better than a dish of black-tiger prawns cooked in oriental style for dinner or just batter fried along with your evening drink. But then, be prepared to shell out a huge sum as black-tiger prawns supply is going down with stagnant production over the past several years. India is the leading producer of black-tiger prawns in the world but today the prawn farmers are faced with the problem of stagnant production due to lack of quality seeds and financial support from the government. According to I.P.R. Mohan Raju, president of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India, "Although India is the leading producer of black-tiger prawns in the world, the production in our country is stagnant for the past few years. The primary reason for the stagnation is the inadequate supply of quality seeds. The hatchery operators depend on the supply of wild brood stock for the production of seeds. The quality and quantity of this wild brood stock has deteriorated over the past few years.' The hatchery operators depended on the supply of wild brood stock for the production of seeds but the quality and quantity of this had deteriorated over the past few years. The federation, the first national platform for prawn farmers constituted by state federations of the 10 maritime states and union territories, would collaborate with the hatchery operators and the government to address this issue, he said. India has over 1,50,000 hectares under prawn cultivation with around 1.2 to 1.4 million hectares potential brackish water area available. More than 91per cent of the 1,00,000 plus farmers are small scale with land holding of less than two hectares. About 6 per cent of the farmers' own land only between two to five hectares and the remaining three percent own land over five hectares. Total production is around 1,35,000 tons with an average production of less than 1000 kg per hectare. Farming methods are mostly extensive or modified extensive with less than 20 per cent of the farms having electricity connections. Black-tiger (Penaeus monodon) is the major species cultivated constituting over 97 per cent of the total production. More than 90 per cent of the 135,000 tons produced and over 94 per cent of the value of exports come from small-scale farmers. Said V. Balasubramaniam, general secretary of the federation, "Lack of institutional finance and insurance coverage is a big deterrent for the growth of the small farmers. More than 90 per cent of the over Rs 3,000 crore invested in prawn farms in India is from the pockets of the small farmers or borrowed from unorganised money lenders. More over, more than 90 per cent of the production cost is financed by credit from the dealers of inputs and companies, since the farmer does not get any type of crop loan from financial institutions. "This drives the cost of production up by 20 to 30 per cent, since credit is involved at various levels in the chain of crop input supplies. If farmers get institutional financing and insurance coverage for their crop, the accrued benefits will make him more competitive in the world market,' he said.
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Loaves and fishes
It should not come as any surprise to Goans that our fishing trawlers are returning almost empty or with very little catch, pushing the prices of fish to the sky. The resources of fish in the sea are not infinite, if the rate of harvesting fish exceeds the natural rate of renewal. Overfishing has its inevitable consequences
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Giant fish caught off Nagai
Fishermen of Kallar near here on Wednesday returned on Thursday morning with a prize catch a huge fish weighing nearly a tonne. According to local fisher men, in local parlance, the fish is called
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Grand Canyon flushing experiment criticised
With creationists arguing over its formation, and lengthy disputes over land rights, the Grand Canyon has often been the focus of controversy.
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Govt admits fish drought in the state
THE state government faced the wrath of both the treasury and opposition members on the issue of fishermen's problems in the council on Tuesday.
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Wake up, before it is too late!
Over twenty years ago, Goa enjoyed the peak of its fishing industry.
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Global encomiums to protect alligators in MP
World Conservation Union (IUCA) has praised the crisis management efforts undertaken in Madhya Pradesh to check deaths of alligators.