Fish Seed Stocking Ramps Up, 18 Cr Reached

Hyderabad: With lakes and reservoirs across the state having water levels to the brim, the authorities have sped up fish seed stocking. So far, 18 crore fish seeds have been stocked in 5,158 water bodies in Telangana.

According to fisheries department officials, this year the process was delayed owing to heavy rains which continued post-monsoon and budget allocations. With Rs 122 crore budget earmarked for the fisheries this financial year, the target this year stands at 83.86 crore for 26,357 tanks.

“Now that the water tanks are to the brim, we have sped up the process of fish seed stocking across the state. So far, we have covered 4,563 water bodies for 35-40 mm fingerlings and 595 water bodies for bigger ones (80-100 fingerlings),” a senior official told Deccan Chronicle.

Under 35-40 mm in length, the fish varieties include catla, rohu and common carp, while under the 80-100 mm category is mrigala. These are over 9 crore and 8 crore, respectively in terms of quantity.

Till now the authorities have achieved 22 per cent of the total fish seed stockings. “Efforts are being made to ensure all the tanks are covered this year, and budget is utilised properly to reach the target and ensure that Telangana continues its record production even this year,” added the official.

Telangana is the only state to stock 520.43 crore fish seed in 23,799 water bodies at a cost of about Rs 464.17 crore from 2016-17 to 2024-25. Telangana has achieved rapid increase in the production and stands 9th in land fish-producing state in India.

The fish production was 1.93 lakh tonnes and prawns at 5,189 tonnes during 2016-17. By 2024-25, it reached 4.62 lakh tonnes and 14,513 tonnes respectively. Total value which was Rs 2,252.23 crore in 2016-17, reached 7,454.55 crore by 2024-25.