Fishiery departments takes up schemes to boost prawn cultivation

Agartala, Sep 07 (UNI) The Tripura Fishery department has taken up a number of ambitious schemes to boost the production of lobsters in the state.

Speaking to UNI, a top official of the Fishery department said the state government had come up with various ambitious schemes to increase the production of prawns in this hilly landlock state of North Eastern region.

The Fishery department had started exporting the prawn seeds to the neighbouring NE states and even to some other states in North India.

'' Recently a Central team, which visited the state, requested the Fishery department to supply them with one lakh prawn seeds. But we have provided them with only 25,000 seeds to meet the growing demands of the prawn seeds in the state as well as neighbouring NE states, '' said the official.

He further said the demand for prawn seeds was growing among the locals, carrying out fish cultivation in their respective localities.

The official further said during 2005-06, the Fishery department had earned an amount of Rs two lakh through the export of prawn seeds. '' The target we have set for the current season is production of ten lakh prawn seeds, but the target would not be fulfilled because of the late monsoon in the state as well as the deficit rainfall. But we are very much hopeful to produce 7.5 lakh of seeds, '' informed the official.

Recently a team of scientists from Mumbai came to the capital and provided a 10-day-long training to the fishery officers to improve technology, specially on prawn cultivation, the official said.

'' We already have many projects to increase the production of prawn seeds in West and South districts of Tripura. We are targetting to spread the prawn culture to the other parts of thge state too, '' remarked the official.

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