By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, June 24, 2024 (BSS) - A total of 50 more fish sanctuaries were
established in Rajshahi division with the main thrust of boosting the stock
of endangered indigenous fish species besides protecting the fish
biodiversity through creating awareness among the public in general.
 
Apart from this, 150 existing fish sanctuaries were renovated in the division
for ensuring a sustainable water ecosystem coupled with developing fish
habitat for improving productivity.
 
The developments were promoted with the intervention of a four-year project
titled "Fisheries Development Project in Rajshahi Division", said Kamrul
Hassan, director of the project.
 
The four-year project has been implemented in 65 upazilas in all eight
districts of the division involving around Taka 47.47-crore since January
2019 to boost fish production along with enhancing its productivity and
habitat development.
 
Being implemented by the Department of Fisheries (DoF), the project is
intended to boost production of fish along with enhancing its productivity
and habitat development through establishing 1,860 demonstration farms and 80
beel nurseries after re-excavation.
 
Kamrul Hassan said generating more scopes of improving living and livelihood
conditions and poverty reduction of the marginalized people, employment
generation for the youths and transferring modern technologies among the
fishermen are the ultimate goals of the project.
 
Around 2,000 distressed fishermen were engaged in various alternative income
generation activities in phases for reducing overfishing in the natural water
bodies.
 
Training, seminars and workshops were arranged for the beneficiary farmers
and the promotional activities progressed through various interventions.
 
A total of 240 Kuchia demonstration farms have also been established for
making the ethnic minority people self-reliant through boosting its
production.
 
A total of 480 farms for demonstration of various small fish species
including Shing, Magur, Gulsha and Pabda while another 480 farms for
demonstrating Koi, Tilapia and Pungus were set up for production expansion of
the tasty and high market valued fish species.
 
The project includes 180 cage and pen fish farming demonstrations for the
best uses of the open water bodies through promoting cage fish culture
coupled with capacity development of the people living alongside the river
banks.
 
As a result of establishing new sanctuaries and renovation of the existing
ones, production of the native fish species were enhanced side by side with
revitalizing the endangered ones, sources said.
 
Requisite numbers of beel nurseries were established for boosting fish
production to meet the gradually mounting protein demands.
 
Fish production was enhanced to five to six tonnes per hectare through
infrastructure development in natural water bodies together with transferring
of modern technologies among the farmers.
 
In phases, 62,000 beneficiary fishermen were imparted training on modern fish
farming technologies aimed at building their capacities.
 
Project Director Kamrul Hassan mentioned that climate change, employment
generation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable uses of updated
technologies are the main challenges towards implementation of the project.
 
The project has started protecting the endangered fish species through
installation of fish sanctuaries and habitats, he added.