The fisheries department has taken up a Tk 47.55 crore project to raise fish production by at least 10 percent in 29 baors, the oxbow lakes of the south-west, in Jashore, Jhenaidah, Chuadanga and Kushtia districts, Krishi Shomoy reported. Besides developing the fishery, the project aims to improve the lives of the genuine fishers who depend on the lakes.
The five-year project is titled 'Community-based fisheries management in selected baor areas'. The decision to take it up followed several meetings during the interim government on raising output in the Jashore region's baors, and it was approved in January this year. A staffing proposal went to the Finance Division; once that was approved under the present government, the development project proposal (DPP) was sent to the Planning Commission, where its costs and activities are now awaiting appraisal.
Silted-up stretches of the selected baors will be dug out to increase their depth and the water they hold, so that fish can survive and grow through the dry season. A fish sanctuary will be set up in each of the 29 baors to protect native species and let them breed naturally.
The plan also includes repairing 35 existing fry-production ponds, sinking six deep tube wells for water supply and rebuilding six dilapidated baor managers' offices. Over five years, 290 beel nurseries will be set up to raise fry of carp and native species, which will then be released into designated water bodies. Training for fishers and extension facilities are part of the package.
Md Delwar Hossain, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said the aim is to raise production while involving local fishers in managing the lakes. Fishing will be controlled inside the sanctuary areas, he said; when fish spread into nearby rivers and beels in the monsoon, local fishers will be able to catch them there.
For baor fishers the practical gains are deeper water that lasts longer, sanctuaries where native fish can breed, and a steady supply of fry from the beel nurseries. Work will begin once the Planning Commission approves the project.
Photo: Shahnoor Habib Munmun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
Comments
(0)