West Godavari, Krishna districts cast the net wide

Fish harvest expected to touch 8 lakh tonne mark

Fish harvest in west Godavari and Krishna districts is expected to touch 8 lakh tonne (worth about Rs 2,500 crore), the target fixed for 2005-06, despite dismantling of fish tanks in about 35,000 acres in Kolleru, which borders the two districts.

M V S Nagi Reddy, vice-president of the Andhra Pradesh Rythanga Samakhya, which represents fish farmers, told Business Standard that even before the demolitions began at Kolleru, land owners went in for digging new fish tanks on a large scale in about 15,000 acres and leased them to new farmers, whose numbers have suddenly gone up. At present, work on more new tanks is going on.

Giving reasons for the poor fish catch in January-July, 2005, Nagi Reddy said owing to non-availability of sufficient water, production had crashed by 40 per cent in the two districts. Consequently, prices soared to Rs 40 a kg from the earlier Rs 27-30 a kg.

As fish farming appeared more lucrative than agriculture, a number of new farmers have forayed into aqua farming.

This is understandable as a kg of 'Rohu' fish fetches Rs 35 on an average. A two-kg fish of the same variety costs Rs 80, for the price goes up as the weight of the fish increases. With the entry of new farmers, the lease rent of tanks has also gone up by Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000.

On the government's recent operation to clear encroachments on Kolleru lake area, Nagi Reddy said 99 per cent of local farmers wholeheartedly approved of the move.

After restoration in two-three years, the silted and encroached Kolleru (2.5 lakh acres) would save forever the peripheral 10 lakh acres from annual submersion by an approximate 85,000 cusecs of Upputeru flood water. The government's move would finally benefit 3 lakh farmers in Krishna and West Godavari districts, he said.