The Punjab Fisheries Department (PFD) has launched a fish seed stocking campaign by releasing 100,000 seeds of different fish varieties in natural water bodies of the province. Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Naveed Akram Cheema on Wednesday inaugurated the campaign at the Cashma Barrage. Fisheries Director General Dr Muhammad Ayub was also present.
Cheema said fishing rights of Chashma Barrage have recently been retrieved to Punjab government after 28 years which is a major achievement of the Fisheries Department and now it has planned to establish a bio-diversity hatchery here. He said that all possible help would be provided to the department to establish this hatchery.
He said that the Fisheries Department was striving to protect the endangered species and this stocking campaign would help increase the fish growth. He said the department had already achieved a major breakthrough in artificial breeding of endangered fish "Mahaseer" and taken lead over other South Asian countries.
He said aquatic pollution had badly affected the fish production in natural water and most of fish species were now on the verge of extinction. He said disposal of untreated toxic effluents of industrial units into rivers and canals were hampering the fish production.
Dr Ayub said 14 fish nursery units were supplying high quality fish seed to farmers. He said the conservation staff of the department is keeping a vigilant eye on illegal fish netting and strict action would be taken against poachers.