KARACHI, Nov 20: Despite having suffered huge losses due to the floods over the last two years, Amjad Ali Shah has no regrets about getting into fish farming business a decade ago.

His spirits are still high after losing almost half of his fishing ponds this year though just like other fish farmers he has not received any compensation from the government. “The government has provided seeds for crops to agriculture farmers but nothing to fish farmers. This is not fair. Yet I am hopeful I’ll manage this difficult time with friends’ support,” says Mr Shah as he points at the ponds left intact in the Chattochand village of Thatta district months after the devastating floods hit the province. Mr Shah turned to fish farming on the advice of a relative following the closure of a private firm where he worked.

After initial hardships, the profession helped him grow steadily over the years. He started the business on a 40-acre farm with four partners and now shares 200 acres with six friends.

“I have never looked back. At the farm, the major responsibility rests with me as I supervise the whole business,” he adds.

Ijaz Hussain Abdani, another fish farmer in Thatta, has been in the business for 18 years. He seconds Mr Shah’s views and appears satisfied. “It hasn’t been a smooth sailing, though,” he adds.

“The floods for two consecutive years and earlier the drought gravely affected my business. With the flooding of the area, the fish in ponds escaped.

“I may seek a bank loan to rehabilitate the farm. But the losses haven’t dampened my resilience. I am very much satisfied at what I have achieved,” he says, adding that he was among the first few who started fish farming in Thatta in the 1980s.

The risk Mr Abdani took gradually paid off and he turned his waterlogged and saline land productive. His fish farm has grown from 16 acres to 120 acres. It’s the success story of people like him that inspired many others to use the lands, which had become barren due to increased water-logging and salinity, for fish farming that along with poultry constitute the top produces of the district today — the other being the agriculture produce which mainly comprise banana and rice.

This growth has changed the landscape of the historical district that had a few fish or poultry farms only three decades ago. A 2005 survey puts the total number of fish farms in Sindh to 2,634, with 462 in Thatta. Right now, there are reportedly more than 1,000 fish farms in the district alone.

“The number may not look high. In fact we have included only those fish farms which have proper embankments, inlets and outlets and proper supervision but there are people running the business without following proper guidelines. A survey is under way to evaluate losses caused to fish farms by the floods,” says Ghulam Mujtaba Wadhar, director of inland fisheries, Hyderabad.

According to Mr Wadhar, there are no taxes or regulations imposed on fish farmers as the government wants to encourage more and more people to join fish farming. With the establishment of government fish hatcheries, the business has received a much needed boost.

“Badin, Thatta and Sanghar are the top districts where fish farming is being practised on a large scale while the business is also being enthusiastically carried out in the upper Sindh areas such as Kashmore-Kandhhot, Jacobabad and Shikarpur districts.”

In reply to a question about production at fish farms, he says there are no separate statistics for the fish being produced at farms. “The total produce of freshwater fish last year was 100,227 tonnes in Sindh and 182,655 kilo in Thatta, while 4,500 tonnes of freshwater fish was exported.”

The daily landing of freshwater fish at the Karachi harbour is five per cent of the total landing that stands around 200 tonnes on a daily basis, according to fisheries officials in Karachi.

The species being farmed include Catla catla (Thailhi), and Cirrhina mrigala (Morakhi), Labeo rohita (Ruhu), all indigenous species while exotic species include silver carp, grass carp and tilapia.

Though Mr Wadhar claims that government hatcheries are providing fish seed, facilities for soil and water testing as well as technical knowledge and training to prospective farmers, a number of fish farmers complain that they have received no support from the government.

“There is no training programme to help us improve production. The productivity per acre is much lower here as compared to what fish farmers attain abroad. Besides, we don’t get any special feed as being supplied to farmers in Punjab,” says Sikander, another fish farmer. He also calls for provision of proper storage facilities to support the industry.

Speaking to Dawn, some fish farmers also complain about not getting fish seed from government hatcheries.

Hatchery in Chilya Situated along the National Highway near Chilya village of Thatta, a 74-acre fish hatchery was established by the government in 1983.

The hatchery offices, laboratory and houses of the staff were burnt in the violence that followed the killing of Benazir Bhutto and had to be rebuilt.

The hatchery, according to government officials, caters to the requirements of fish seed in the lower part of Sindh and has played a pioneering role in encouraging people to set up fish farms in Thatta.

Speaking to Dawn, Syed Ashraf Ali Shah Jilani, deputy director of fisheries, Chilya, cites the lack of use of scientific methods by most farmers as a major reason for the losses they suffered.

“They want to maximise profits but have little interest in the details required to do that. Active participation of the owner is a must to get sustained profit,” he says. The harvesting period of fish varies from one year to 18 months, he says, adding that generally farmers wait for a good bargain to sell their stock.

Guidance and training programmes are a regular feature of the hatchery from where farmers can also get fish seed at a nominal price, according to Mr Jilani.

Giving some business tips, he says an analysis of water and soil is necessary before setting up a farm, which must have a regular supply of water. Low stocking leads to high production, he says. Besides, he adds, 50 per cent of the pond water must be changed if there is a risk for disease.

“Freshwater is supplied to a pond on a regular basis as it rehabilitates the fish automatically. The level of water is maintained.” A good thing about fish farming is that the land after six to seven years of fish farming becomes fertile for agriculture. Many people switch from fish farming to agriculture after some years, he says.

About different projects under way at the hatchery, Mr Jilani says one of them related to pangasius species, an exotic freshwater fish, being grown at the hatchery on an experimental basis. The fish is boneless, tasty and survives even in waters with zero oxygen content.

Regarding farmers’ grievances, he says it is unfortunate that they do not appreciate government efforts despite receiving support from it.

“We are also in the process of introducing special feed for fish,” he says.