Arunachal can become inland cold water fish exporter, says minster

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Arunachal Pradesh can turn into a major exporter of inland cold water fish if we use the correct methodology and technology to harness the enormous potential available in the state, said Agriculture and Fisheries minister Tage Taki on Monday.

Speaking at the 3-day training-cum-demonstration on harvest and post-harvest technologies for Lower Subansiri district under the North East Hill component here, Taki said that Arunachal has a huge potential in inland cold water fishery in Tawang, Bomdila, Mechuka and Ziro.

Don’t miss out on in-depth & unbiased stories from Northeast India. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for free.

“We need to be proactive and encourage our fish farmers to breed and rear exotic cold water fishes like trout which are highly priced at the national and international markets. The fishery department is willing to provide all required technical knowledge, inputs and logistics to support the cause of fishery revolution in the state,” Taki said.

Appreciating the handholding support of ICAR–Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Visakhapatnam Research Centre for the growth and development of the fishery sector in the state, the minister informed that Lower Subansiri district is coming up in a big way in the fishery sector.

With success stories of many fish farmers from Ziro and Yachuli, people are slowly getting inspired to take fishery as a business model and source of income, he said, while informing that a catch of 11.5 kg fish was recorded from the water conservation project of Siikhey Lake at Ziro recently which is a record for the valley.

Taki also urged the trainers from ICAR-CIFT to review the effectiveness of the training after a few months.

Agriculture and Fisheries minister Tage Taki speaking at the 3-day training-cum-demonstration on harvest and post-harvest technologies.

The minister further said Ziro Valley is famed in the country for its unique paddy-cum-pisiculture.

However, due to the inbreeding of the commonly grown common carp variety of fish at the paddy fields for a long time, the quality of the fish had reduced and so common carp had to be replaced by Amurcarp which has revived the quality of the fish, he said, while adding that such training programmes are needed to provide correct perspectives and mid-way corrections to fish farmers to avoid losses.

Taki also informed that if the training and the equipment provided by ICAR-CIFT for value addition of the fish products were a success at Ziro valley, the fishery department would keep an annual budget the following year to replicate the same in other parts of the state.

Lower Subansiri deputy commissioner Bamin Nime also called for bringing innovations in fish cultivation in the district.

With the upcoming Aqua Park at Ziro Valley which will be the first of its kind in the country, I am sure the development of the fishery sector would witness a sea change not only in the Lower Subansiri district but in the entire state, he said, while extending his best wishes to the trainees.

Earlier in his keynote address, ICAR-CIFT principal scientist, Dr U Sreedhar highlighted the role of ICAR-CIFT in the development of the fishery sector in the country.

“Founded in 1957, the ICAR-CIFT has in the last 62 years made commendable scientific contributions in the fields of fish harvesting, processing, packaging, product development, quality assurance, fishery by-products and fishery waste utilisation,” he informed.

Dr Sreedhar further informed that during the 3-day training programme, his team would aid and provide training to fish farmers on technical inputs on fish harvesting, value addition, fish engineering, waste utilization, fishery health care, etc.

The ICAR-CIFT team comprising senior scientist Dr Jesmi Debbarma and scientist G Kamei will also be providing training to the farmers on introduction to advances in inland harvesting systems, hands-on training on serially foldable traps, operation of lines and various baits used in inland water bodies, etc.

The day also saw minister Taki also release the training manuals on harvest and post-harvest technologies and visit the fish hatchery unit of Gaumco Multipurpose Cooperative Society located at Hari village. (East Mojo)