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ICAR-CIFRI Organizes a Series of Fish Harvest Mela and Sensitization Programme at Wetlands of West Bengal

17^th April, 2025
The ICAR- Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata organized a “Fish Harvesting mela and Sensitization programme” at Sindrani, Kundipur, Bijpur and Kumli wetlands, North 24 Pargana, West Bengal on 16th and 17th April 2025. The Programme was organized under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and SCSP. The programme was conducted under the guidance of Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR- Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore.

Floodplain wetlands, known for their complex and highly productive ecosystems, are among India's most promising inland open waters. However, unscientific management practices and human-induced activities such as jute retting and domestic sewage discharge have significantly reduced their fish yield, falling short of the estimated potential. To address this, ICAR-CIFRI is promoting culture-based fisheries (CBF) as a sustainable solution. This involves stocking high-quality, large-sized fish seed, raised in situ using pen culture techniques. ICAR-CIFRI has adopted wetlands as a model site for demonstrating of pen culture and CBF for sustainable fisheries development.

As part of the initiative, ICAR-CIFRI distributed several fisheries inputs, including CIFRI HDPE pens, fish seed, fish feed and an outboard engine fishing boat to support fisheries development in the wetland. A pen culture demonstration was conducted by stocking 150 kg of fish seed each in Bijpur, Kundipur and 75 Kg of fish seed each in Kumli and Sindrani (Labeo rohita, Labeo catla, and Labeo bata). Over a culture period of four months, the pen yielded 310 kg in Bijpur, 424 kg in Kundipur, 275 kg in Sindrani and 180kg of fish, which were subsequently stocked into the wetland for CBF practices.

The total event witnessed participation from over 200 members of the Primary Fishermen’s Cooperative Society. Scientists, technical staff, and project personnel actively engaged with the fishers through hands-on demonstrations and interactions. These sessions helped in transferring vital knowledge and technical skills, enabling the fishers to adopt pen culture and CBF methods effectively. Local fishermen also shared their insights and highlighted how the interventions by ICAR-CIFRI have positively influenced their livelihoods The programme was coordinated by Dr. Lianthuamluaia, Senior Scientist, with support from Mr. Kaushik Mondal, Senior Technical Assistant, and Dr. Bandana Das Gosh, Project Scientist.