04-05-2025
ADAK caged fish farming project strikes gold in Neyyar Dam, benefiting the local forest tribal community
In July last year, pisciculture experts from the agency for the Development of Aquaculture Kerala (ADAK) surveyed the Neyyar Dam Reservoir to map crocodile habitats and feeding grounds.
The ADAK team discerned that the waters adjacent to Amboori village were relatively free of the predatory sem-aquatic reptiles' menace.
In 1977, the government released a batch of mugger crocodiles into the reservoir, and their population abounded later.
In 2001, the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) studied the crocodile population in Neyyar reservoir after local tribals complained that the species threatened humans and livestock and depleted the fish stock.
The ADAK team found the expansive reservoir locality ideal and safe for caged fish farming. Nevertheless, the agency was loath to take chances, so experts used intrusion-resistant underwater netting to protect the fish farming zone from predatory forays by crocodiles looking for easy prey.
Over several weeks, ADAK placed 100 floating cages in the reservoir to cultivate fish. Each high-density polyethene (HDPE) cage measured 6 metres in length, 4 metres in width, and 4 metres in depth.
ADAK stocked the cages with Pearl Spot (2.5 lakh) and Murrel (50,000) fishlings sourced from its hatcheries at Ayirumthengu and Kulathupuzha in the Alappuzha and Kollam districts, respectively.
The ADAK also roped in the local tribal community as stakeholders in the project. Pesticide and fertiliser seepage from nearby plantations and destructive fishing methods had diminished the local fish population, incrementally depriving the forest community of income and protein.
ADAK managing director Ignatious Munroe told The Hindu that tribals helped source Satavari Root. The increasingly rare tuber increases fishlings' immunity when mixed with fish feed and fed to them. However, the root grows in abundance in the Agasthya Biosphere. It is a seasonal source of income for forest-dwelling tribes.
Moreover, ADAK enlisted the Forest Department and the Eco Development Committee (EDC) to train tribals in the latest caged fish farming methods. So far, 14 families from the Kani forest tribe in the Puravamala settlement have partnered in the ADAK project.
Faced with the prospect of poachers raiding the cages, ADAK installed solar lamps and internet-linked surveillance cameras for round-the-clock monitoring. ADAK also provided tribals with inland fishing boats, canoes and fish feed to maintain and monitor the cages.
The ADAK project struck gold in May. Tribals used dip nets to scoop fully grown and pricey Pearl Spot, a highly sought-after local delicacy, and Murrel from the cages. ADAK experts had intermittently seeded the cages so the fishlings would reach market size in batches, given that a glut of fish in the market would drastically bring down prices. They valued the total catch at an estimated ₹2 crore.
Fish wholesalers and locals flocked to Amboori on May 2 to buy rare freshwater Pearl Spots and Murrel. Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian inaugurated the auction. Several local restaurants serving freshwater fish delicacies, including Mahseer, Rohu, Cutla, Anabas and endemic catfish varieties, are proving a magnet for weekend holidayers from Thiruvananthapuram.
ADAK experts feel that caged fish farming has immense scope in Kerala, given its vast backwaters and maze of inland waterways. Similar ADAK projects were under way at the Idukki, Peechi, and Kaki dams.
