Fish is part of the diet of almost four and a half billion people:Dr Muhammad Ayub

Lahore: Fish is part of the diet of almost four and a half billion people. With the new trends in the field of aquaculture and the use of modern technology, it become possible to increase quality and production. Around the world more than 158 million tons of fish produced by natural process and fish farming and out of which only 136 million tons is food fish, and 66 million tons fish produced by fish farming, which is more than half of the total production.

This was stated by Director General Fisheries Dr Muhammad Ayub while addressing a one day workshop on World Fisheries Day held at Fisheries Research and Training Institute Manawan, here today.  The topic was “Fish Culture Techniques”. Prof. DrNaeem Tariq Norejaand Assistant Professor Dr.  Shaista of Sind University Jamshoro, Professor Dr.M. Sharif Mughal from Virtual University, Officers of the Fisheries Department and a large number of fish farmers were present on this occasion. Dr. Muhammad Ayub said that more than 50 million people in the world are attached with the fish industry. He said that due to ever increasing demand of fish meat in the world, latest technology being used to introduce new varieties of aquaculture.

Dr Muhammad Ayub said that for the growth of fish in fish farming sector, besides Cage culture and Race Way Culture, Bio Floc Technology, Pro Biotics Technology and Genetically Modified Organism is being used worldwide for the rapid growth in production of fish. DG Fisheries said through Intensive Fish Seed Rearing, baby fish could be produced at small places and in this regard experts and professionals of Fisheries Department made successful experiments in Mian Channu and Faisalabad.

He said that breeding of all species of fish, through artificial insemination, is going on at Biodiversity Hatchery Chashma Barrage and these baby fish released in the Indus river system so that these varieties could be secured. He told that for quality assurance of fish, a latest and according to international criterion, a modern laboratory has been established at Manawan where efficiently Fish Farmers are benefiting.

Dr. Muhammad Ayub said that in order to meet growing demand of Baby fish in the province, a large hatchery in Lahore and five new nurseries in various districts of the province are being made with the cost of 400 million rupees where a number of fish seed production could be made possible. He said that in order to make aquaculture a state-of-the-art, sub-agency of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s technical cooperation good aquaculture practices are being introduced to improve and promote fish farming sector to garner quality production.

Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Naeem Tariq Noreja and Assistt. Professor Dr.  Shaista of Sind University Jamshoro, Professor Dr. M. Sharif Mughal from Virtual University also addressed the workshop and spoke on the celebration of World Fisheries Day and threw light on new methods of fish breeding and quality production.