Fish diseases cut bait on hopes of Krishna, West Godavari farmers

Fish farmers of Krishna and West Godavari districts, who have already lost up to Rs 200 crore due to reduced production caused by lack of water for the ponds, now face the danger of further losses with diseases afflicting two commonly raised fish varieties "" 'Rohu' (Seelavathi) and 'Katla' (Botche).

Compounding their difficulties are traders who have defaulted on payments to the tune of Rs 40 crore.

The problem that has affected the fish farmers is the availability of fresh water supply to fish seed ponds to an extent of about 20,000 acres, in which they are raising fishlings. If these ponds do not receive water by the second week of May, about 15,000 farmers will be severely affected.

Alongside them, thousands of labourers, packing workers and transport staff and operators, who depend on the fish industry, would also be affected, V S Nagireddy, president of the Delta Fish Farmers' Association (DFFA), said.

Fish farmers, Nagireddy told Business Standard, produced seven lakh tonnes of fish a year.

"As the government refuses to supply water for two crops a year, we are forced to be content with one crop in seven months. As cultivation of crops has already been doomed, more and more young farmers, most of them educated and well qualified, entered pisiculture in recent years. Here also they have burnt their fingers. More farmers produced more and enormous fish, which put them at the mercy of traders, and forced them to sell the produce at non-remunerative prices. This way they have lost massive amounts," he said.

Nagireddy said that 80 per cent of the fish tanks did not get water supply during 2003-04. The farmers did not raise the second crop as the government had supplied them water for only two months.

Farmers themselves set up a laboratory at Gudivada, which conducts water and feed analysis, microbiology and other tests free of cost for farmers. The lab cost them Rs 1 lakh. The DFFA is planning to set up another such lab at Eluru.

V Ramachandraraju, secretary of the DFFA, blamed the water scarcity for the outbreak of diseases. "As farmers could not change water in the tanks according to the schedule, diseases attacked fish, stunting their growth, and added to the woes of the farmers".

"While 'Rohu' fish is attacked by 'red' disease, the 'Katla' fish is succumbing to 'gill' disease. When antibiotics were used, the fish appeared to be cured. Once the antibiotics were stopped, infections attacked the fish again and spread more aggressively. These diseases have become more rampant in the fish tanks of Krishna district than in West Godavari. In West Godavari district, the diseases are slowly responding to the treatment. As the tanks were polluted, the fishes are found refusing to take feed. They tend to float on water surface and gasp for oxygen intake," he said.

Narasimha Rao, treasurer of the DFFA, charged the traders with not paying huge amounts they owed to farmers. "They baited the farmers with the promise of high prices, but after taking possession of the fish they simply disappeared. After some days, they came back slapping insolvency petitions (IP) on farmers," he lamented.

Rao also alleged that the fish yards at Gudivada, Kaikalur and Bhimavaram lacked basic amenities despite farmers having paid Rs 750 as cess for every truckload of fish and that at least 150 loads were brought to these yards for sale every day.

The DFFA leaders demanded that the government supply water to the fish seed ponds immediately and provide them feed rich in protein and healthy seeds.