Vet varsity celebrates National Fish Farmers Day

To commemorate the contribution of induced breeding in blue revolution, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University celebrated National Fish Farmers day on Tuesday. The breakthrough achieved in induced breeding of fish in captivity by the father of induced breeding, Dr Hira Lal Chaudhury, on July 10, 1957, served as a catalyst to synergise the growth of the aquaculture sector.

Meera D Ansal, dean of College of Fisheries (COF) said that over the last four decades, total fish production of the country has increased from 2.36 to 16.28 million tonnes (mt) in 2021-22, with corresponding increase in inland sector contribution from 40% (0.94mt) to 74.44% (12.12 mt). This was possible due to development of fish hatcheries across the country and subsequent adoption of aquaculture technologies by the receptive, dedicated and innovative farmers, which transformed Indian fish farming into a fast-growing lucrative aquaculture sector, making India the second-largest aquaculture producer in the world, she added.

To showcase solidarity with the fisher folks on this occasion, the fisheries professionals of COF visited progressive fish farmers Buta Singh, Sukhjit Singh and Rajdeep Singh of Karodian village for interaction. The event was conducted under university institutional development plan of ICAR-national agriculture higher education project (NAHEP) by scientists Abhishek Srivastava and Amit Mandal, coordinated by Vaneet Inder Kaur, principal scientist.

Inderjeet Singh, vice chancellor, congratulated the farmers for continued success in scaling up the sector to newer heights. Highlighting the significance of aqua foods in human nutrition, he also emphasised to take up required measures for enhancing fish consumption to complement the aquaculture production potential of the nation.