Efforts to bring the dying aquaculture sector back onto the rails through an alternative to the virus hit tiger variety shrimp has been facing stiff opposition from aqua farmers across the coast. The Union government had allowed select hatcheries to conduct trials on white shrimp known as L.Vannamei about five years ago when tiger shrimp was plagued by various problems including a poor market rate.

Proactive involvement of private sector, high fish production and soft loans to the farmers has made fish farming a profitable industry in the province. This was stated by Director General Fisheries Punjab Dr Muhammad Ayub while addressing a departmental meeting at Fisheries Research and Training Institute (FRTI).

Governor Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi urged students of animal and fishery sciences to extend their learning to the rural areas such as the Sunderbans where primitive methods of fishing is used. The new technique that the students have will save the rare organism of the coastal waters who are killed indiscriminately due to the fishing practice of the locals.

Fish and allied products' development, particularly crab culture, is on the rise with farmers more inclined to take this up, after aqua culture in the country. In addition, export of fish of octopus and jellyfish variety has also increased in the last few years as it has a good market in the south-east Asian countries. Participating in the inauguration of a molecular biology lab at the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Dr S. Ayyappan, deputy director general (DDG) of ICAR (fisheries), New Delhi, revealed details on Monday.