Biggest ever Ornamental Fish Expo begins

Chennai, Oct 1 (UNI) More than 500 varieties of Ornamental fishes, including Vaasthu fishes, from across the globe were on display at the biggest ever fish expo ''Aqua Show-008'' which began here today.

Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister K P P Samy inaugurated the five-day expo being organised by the Chennai Aquarium Development and Traders Association (CADTA) in the backdrop of this teeming metropolis becoming a hub for Ornamental Fish industry, More than 80 stalls featuring various types of fishes provide a visual feast for the visitors, who started thronging the fair even before its formal inauguration.

''The response from the kids and the student community has been quite encouraging'', CADTA officials said.

The Aqua show was aimed at taking ornamental fish trade to new heights and develop breeding techniques, display systems and accessories.

Besides providing the much needed support to entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu to increase the ornamental fish trade, the objective of the expo was to encourage Hobbyists, Breeders and Entrepreneurs, CADTA President B Selvaraj said.

''Chennai is the 'hub' of ornamental fish industry and it has the highest number of farms and aquariums offering varieties of live fish at affordable prices. Since major traders, importers and breeders are located here, new arrivals and launches always take place at Chennai'',he said.

The Expo would not only provide a forum for exchange of views and interaction with ornamental fish breeders and traders, but also induce shopkeepers in India to source their requirements in bulk from Chennai on a regular basis.

''Going by the first day's response, we expect to exceed the target of 1.5 lakh visitors during the next five days'', officials said.

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