Indrajit Kumar Biswas, a fish farmer from Boira village in Shatkhali union of Magura district, has had notable success farming native and high-value fish after leasing seven acres of ponds. He leased the ponds for a total of Tk 7 lakh, at Tk 1 lakh an acre, and began farming on a large scale for the first time this year. He had farmed fish in small ponds before, but with this new venture he has made an impression by farming tengra, pabda, native rui, catla and silver carp.

Indrajit said the total investment was about Tk 52 lakh. He has already sold about 140 maunds of fish, earning Tk 14 lakh. About 30 maunds of white fish were sold on 10 April. At current market prices, rui is selling at Tk 300 a kg, silver carp at Tk 220 and pabda at Tk 330. In all, he hopes his total sales could reach about Tk 80 lakh.

"Silver carp have grown to 5-6 kg, catla to 4 kg and rui to 2 kg," he said. "Pabda are coming at 8-10 to the kg. The tengra have not been fully harvested yet but come to about 50 kg. The tengra were supposed to be sold a month later, but the fish grew quickly. After a good response to the new pabda farming, I am now marketing them."

Along with the district fisheries office, he is being supported by Alternative Development Initiative (ADI). Mohammad Nur Amin Mukul, focal person of ADI's agriculture unit and a fisheries officer, said: "With the support of PKSF and ADI we have been implementing various technologies in Magura and Jashore since 2014, but we were not having much success with pabda. At last we have succeeded with pabda in Indrajit dada's pond. Pabda are now coming at 8-10 to the kg, which is a very significant success."

In his view, "People in this area believed pabda farming was not possible. But with technical support and proper management, that belief has changed."

Sujon Kumar Biswas, who came to see the farm, said: "I heard that high-quality fish were being farmed here. Coming to watch the nets being pulled, I saw that there really were big rui, catla and silver carp, and pabda at 8-10 to the kg. I will try to farm like this myself in future. That is mainly why I came."

Local fisherman Sunil Kumar Biswas said: "I haven't found pabda this big anywhere else this year. The catla, silver carp and rui are all of very good size. The fish from this pond are of good quality."

Magura district fisheries officer Sadhan Chandra Sarkar said: "The district produces a total of 19,692 tonnes of fish a year, while demand is 23,002 tonnes, a shortfall of 3,310 tonnes. To meet this shortfall we have focused on raising awareness, setting up sanctuaries to conserve native species and enforcing fisheries law."

He said: "At least one sanctuary is being set up in each upazila every year, and strict steps are being taken to stop the use of harmful nets. With the help of the NGOs CNRS and ADI, 20 sanctuaries have been built in the district this year. As a result of these efforts, near-extinct native fish species are coming back."

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