Reservoirs in Pathanamthitta to host fish farms

Commercial fishery shouldn’t be an occupation one would usually affiliate with the folks dwelling on the high-ranges of Pathanamathitta.

The sector, nonetheless, seems to be set to achieve a foothold alongside the forest-fringe villages right here, thanks to a novel group initiative.

Starting from September, a bunch of 100 folks from the Scheduled Tribe group in Seethathodu village will open aquaculture farms contained in the sprawling reservoir of the Kakki dam in the Sabarimala forests. The initiative, being carried out by the Agency for Development of Aquaculture Kerala, might be expanded to different reservoirs in the district in a phased method.

According to officers, the challenge envisages industrial manufacturing of fish by means of cage farming system. As many as 100 cages, every having a size of six meters and a width of 4 meters, might be arrange contained in the reservoir. The hives will include 3000 fish-lings every and the harvest might be held twice in a yr.

“The fish harvested from the dam will be sold through the stalls to be opened through the stalls to be opened by the Matsyafed under the brand name ‘Konni Fish’,” stated K.U. Janeesh Kumar, Konni MLA.

The Seethathodu panchayat and the Forest Department had been tasked to establish the beneficiaries of the challenge, who could be receiving a day by day earnings of ₹400 and proceeds from the fish gross sales, he added.

The Fisheries Department will present the farmers technical steering and the logistical help for transporting fish to the native market.

As a part of implementing the challenge, a gathering of the challenge monitoring committee comprising of Fisheries, Panchayat, Forest, KSEB, and Dam Safety sections was held right here the opposite day. The committee, led by the MLA, additionally carried out a joint inspection of the reservoir to decide the areas for depositing the cages.

Officials stated the farms have been anticipated to fetch round 125 tonnes of fish in the primary part.