SHILLONG: The Department of Fisheries, with an aim to enhance the capacities of the fish farmers of Meghalaya on various modern technologies and methods of fish farming, fish seed production, fish production in ponds and tanks, management of hatcheries, etc., has established a Research & Training Institute, to be known as the Meghalaya State Fisheries Research & Training Institute (MSFRTI) at Mawpun in Ri Bhoi District.

SHILLONG: With the annual demand of fish in the State reaching around 33000 metric tonnes, the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM) is expected to produce around 20000 mt of fish thereby reducing the demand and supply gap.

The Mission has been divided into mini missions and under the mini mission 1, the Government plans to construct 5618 fish ponds. Sources said that so far around 4300 fish ponds have been sanctioned even as the Government under the mission plans to construct 1 lakh fish ponds in the five years of the project.

The Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries (University of Kerala) and Agency for Development of Aqua Culture, Kerala, have identified the use of small mesh encircling nets as one of the biggest threats to the biodiversity of Vellayani lake, the second largest fresh water body in the State.

A participatory fish census conducted by the institutions has found that many perennial streams, which supplied water to the lake, have dried up. Paddy fields and wetlands have been land filled. The research team also noticed an alarming depletion of frogs in the lake. Pesticide contamination of the lake and shrinking of its area were other major issues affecting the water body’s survival.

SILCHAR: India is a megabiodiversity country and north-east, in particular, is a hotspot of biodiversity in the world being gifted with innumerable water resources in the form of wetlands, lakes and rivers with biodiversity of resources in them. It is also a fact that the depleting water bodies and fish resources along with bioresources are a matter of concern.

In order to dwell deep into the problem, division of wetlands, fishery science and aquaculture in the Department of Life Science and Bioinformatics under the School of Life Sciences, Assam University, Silchar, organized a 2 day international symposium entitled ‘Frontiers of Wetlands, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research in the New Millennium’ recently.

LUCKNOW: The court rulings and initiative from the revenue department may not be enough to save the old Kathauta jheel in the city from land sharks which are ready to raise a residential building o