Rows of cages sit on the calm river, and inside them fish are being farmed and sold for lakhs of taka. Where others never imagined doing anything like this in river water, returnee migrant Enamul Haque has surprised people by raising lakhs of taka worth of fish. It has been possible because of the deep water held back upstream of a rubber dam on the Atrai river.

The Mohanpur bridge crosses the Atrai at Mohanpur in Dinajpur Sadar upazila. On the north side, upstream, is a large rubber dam, and the fish farming project sits right beside it. The project cost about Tk 18 lakh. Enamul started with only 10 cages; today there are 67. He has sold fish from them in several rounds and earned Tk 20 lakh, and he hopes to earn another Tk 10 to 12 lakh by selling the remaining fish.

According to the district fisheries office, the district needs about 93,000 tonnes of fish a year but produces 73,000 tonnes, a shortfall of 20,000 tonnes. The main reason is a lack of water in ponds and ditches, so using river water for cage farming could fill much of the gap.

This is reported to be the only such fish farming project in the district. Enamul came home after about seven years as a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates and decided to do something. Looking around, he saw that the rubber dam made the Atrai very deep at this point. Using that depth as his capital, he began farming monosex tilapia in floating cages. Job opportunities here are growing day by day.

People in Dinajpur are amazed by this way of farming fish in floating cages on river water. Every day visitors come from different parts of the district, some to learn and some to take inspiration. People who come to see the rubber dam hurry over to see the fish in the cages.

Entrepreneur Enamul Haque believes that if unemployed young people took up such ventures instead of chasing jobs, their families would become better off and the country would move forward. "I saw a lot of fish farming like this in Chandpur, Mymensingh and Narsingdi," he said. "After seeing and hearing and thinking it over, I started it in my own area. The rubber dam means the water is deep and it flows, which is why I chose this spot. There is always 17 to 18 feet of water here. I started after taking advice from the district fisheries officer. The Department of Fisheries could not help financially, but I received other support."

Rafiqul Islam, who came to visit the rubber dam, told Jago News: "I had never seen fish farmed in cages on a river before. This is the first time, and I really like it."

Makbul Hossain and Golam Mostafa look after the fish, and their households depend on this work. "The cages that have been built will last three to four years," they said. "Monosex tilapia is farmed in them. On the days the fish are harvested, several people get work."

Enamul Haque told Jago News: "Those who have a little money can farm fish like me instead of running after jobs. The whole river next to us is empty. To get even a peon's job you have to pay Tk 10 to 12 lakh. Instead of paying that, farming fish is good for yourself and for the country."

Dinajpur District Fisheries Officer Tariqur Rahman Sarkar said: "The district fisheries office is helping Enamul Haque with various kinds of advice. Through technical assistance and other support we have been able to encourage him. He built this project with his own money."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.