Fish farmers in India are moving away from their dependence on traditional carp varieties to more commercially important species with a view to cashing in on the depletion in wild catch.
Aquaculture in the state, forced by frequent outbreak of diseases, switched from traditional shrimp farming in pokkali fields to farming carp varieties like katla, rohu, mrigal and grass carp. However, these varieties have not been giving enough returns.
However, a fish farmer V.M. Shibu in Kottappuram says that he has now been farming new species and the results have been impressive. A kilogram of sea bass fetched INR 450 (USD 7.47, EUR 5.42) per kilogram during the last harvest and Mr. Shibu is going to harvest cobia for the first time in April and is looking forward to a price band of INR 300 (USD 4.98, EUR 3.61) to INR 350 (USD 5.81, EUR 4.22) per kilogram.
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April 3, 2014
