The Chhattisgarh Government will go for allotment of various lakes and reservoirs on a 10-year lease basis for fisheries work, officials informed.
Notably , the 'cage culture' system of fish-rearing programmes was started in Chhattisgarh and now the State tops the list of cage culture pattern of fish production in the country. They are grown in in Saroda Sagar, Sheer Pani, Gonga canal, Jhumka waters and Tourenga waters.
About 350 metric tonnes (MTs) of fish was produced with cage culture system. The Department is operating a scheme of constructing houses for fishermen. About 400 houses will be built for fishermen families in 2015-16.
The Department officers revealed that Chhattisgarh is self-sufficient in fish production. The fish seed needed for fishermen is produced in the State iteslf.
The progressive farmers are producing 8,000 to 12,000 kilograms per hectare of fish like Katla, Rohu and Mrugal varieties.
In February this year, the State government had announced that about 39000 fishermen of the State would get employment through fish farming in the Anicuts and barrages constructed over rivers and nullahs.
The government has also banned breeding, farming, transport and trade of Big Head and Mangur species of fishes in the State.
Decisions in this regard were taken by the State Cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh recently.
In the meeting it was resolved that the fishermen should be included as members of more than 1000 Fishermen Cooperative Societies of the State. They would be given opportunity of fish farming in the 400 Anicuts constructed in past few years and the Anicuts and barrages under construction in the State.
The Anicuts and barrages would be allotted to the Fishermen Cooperative Societies by the Directorate of Fisheries as per procedure. The water reservoirs with capacity greater than 1000 hectares would be allotted to Fisheries Federation which will auction these bodies as per procedure.
Those who get these reservoirs through tender will provide advance techniques of fish farming to the fishermen besides employment to them.
The State Cabinet had also decided to ban the breeding, farming, transportation and trade of Big Head and Mangur fishes in the State. These foreign fishes eat the local species.
There was a quantum jump in fish production in Chhattisgarh which now stands higher than the national average, officials claimed.
The fish production was 2,975 kilo per hectare in 2013-14, while the national average is 2,650 kilo per hectare, they stated.