Emoinu fish fair: Fish production exceeds target

OSR/DIPR
IMPHAL, Jan 11 :  The second edition of Emoinu Fish Festival held at Hapta Kangjeibung today witnes-sed a significant fish produc- tion surpassing the sale target of 80,000 Kg with local Sareng selling like a hot cake.
Against the sale target of 80,000 Kg, the fish production recorded in the festival was 86,286 Kg.
District-wise, Imphal West produced a total of 38,720 Kg, followed by Bishnupur with 19,425 Kg .
Thoubal and Imphal East, on the other hand, produced 18,940 Kg and 4,720 Kgs of fish respectively.
Other districts such as Senapati, Tamenglong and  Ukhrul also participated in the fish fair.
The highlight of the mela was the sale of local Sareng and Nung-nga, a popular indigenous riverine fish found mostly in the major rivers of hill districts.
Around 1000 Kg of Nung-nga cultured in the farm ponds of Chungkham Kopeshwar of Wangoi Makha Leikai and Ning-thoujam Basanta of Khodrak was on sale.
Beside Nung-nga, home grown Sareng was also on sale as the public demand for local Sareng is gaining momentum.
A large crowd thronged the Sareng stall by forming a beeline and the fish variety was sold like a hot cake.
A mad rush was seen at stall no 15  to buy local Sareng.
Speaking to the media, Mayengbam ongbi Roni of Wabagai Turel Mamei  said that she started rearing Sareng since July 31 last year by procuring about 2,000 fingerlings.
Saying that she sold about 220 Kg of Sareng during the fish fair and another 200 kg at  her farm yesterday, Roni said that she sold the Sareng at Rs 1,300 per Kg.
She said that most of the Sareng she sold weighed  more than 2.5 Kg.
Saying that she sold all the fishes she brought very soon as many people came to buy Sareng, Roni  said that there, however, was commotion among the buyers as they feared Sareng may run out of stock before they could purchase them.
She went on to state that many buyers took the fish without properly weighing them as there was a mad rush.
When asked why they were misbehaving, some buyers threw money and went away with the fish, she complained and added that she was disappointed on seeing the behaviour of the people.
The  fish fair organised by the Fisheries Department also registered a robust business of agro-horti products, dry fish and home-made products by internally displaced people (IDPs) worth Rs 3.60 lakh.
Altogether 130 stalls from eight districts were opened at the fish fair selling fish varieties such as Rohu, Common Carp, Silver Carp, Pengba, Khabak, Ngaton, Ngahei, Ukabi, Porom, Tunghanbi, Sareng, Ngakra, Muka Nga, Ngasang and Nung-nga, among others.
The prices fixed for different fish varieties by the department were Sareng (Rs 1100 per Kg and Rs 1200 per Kg for fish weighing more than 2 Kg) Catla (Rs 220 for below 2 Kg, Rs 300 for above 3 Kg and Rs 380 for above 5 Kg), Rohu (Rs 220 for below 1 Kg, Rs 280 for above 1 Kg and Rs 350 for above 2 Kg) etc.
Fisheries Minister H Dingo also came to the fish fair.
He said that the Government is putting in every effort to increase the production of fish in Manipur as fish is an important part of Manipuri cuisine.
Saying that  the State needs to produce 62,000 to 65,000 metric tonnes of fish every year to meet the rising demand, he added that the production deficit stands at around 30,000 metric tonnes.
He went on to say that local Sareng was revived with the serious intervention of the State Government.
Saying that rearing Sareng is a challenging task,  he added that the State used to buy Sareng fingerlings from Bangladesh and Myanmar but not anymore and the same is a big achievement for the State.