Fish researchers at the Syedpur Freshwater Sub-Centre in Nilphamari district have brought nine out of 64 endangered native verieties of fish, in the northern region of the country, back to life.
Out of those nine revived varieties, six varieties have already been marketed at farmer level. If the research is continued, it will be possible to revive the species of the remaining varieties in a short time, the concerned people have claimed.
Istiaq Haider, a senior scientific officer at the freshwater sub-centre, said they had conducted intensive long-term research to restore the life of some long lost native fish, including the lost Batia, Puia, Laitya, Tangra and Kursa fish.
Shawkat Ahmed, a senior scientific officer at the sub-centre, said that the delicious freshwater fish of the northern region has been lost due to the aggression of people in rivers, canals and beels; filling of various water bodies as well as the adverse behavior of nature.
He said, they are conducting research by collecting fish from different rivers of Rangpur region. They have also succeeded in artificial insemination of fish for the first time in this year's monsoon. Although, they had to work day and night to do this work, they are extremely happy with the results.
Maliha Hossain Mou, another senior scientist of the sub-centre said that the work of this research is very complicated. Excluding all thoughts, one has to concentrate on this work.
The sub-centre, built on 10 acres of land, has 10 ponds, a rich laboratory and various facilities for fish fry production which is working as a research aid.
Two years ago, artificial insemination of this fish was successfully achieved by collecting Kursha fish from local rivers like Teesta, Jamuneshwari, Charalkata, Chikli, Barati and Burikhora.
Each fish lays up to eight thousand eggs. After various tests, the egg cores were removed from the eggs. In the initial stage these egg cores called Renu were nourished by feeding on the yolk of the eggs and then they were released in the ponds of the sub-centre.
Later, these fish were nourished with proper care and were made suitable for commercial cultivation. In 2019, 40 Kursha fish were collected from the Burikhora river in Nilphamari and brought to the sub-centre for research.
Saidpur Fisheries Research Institute Chief Scientific Officer Dr Khandaker Rashidul Islam said the freshwater sub-centre was established in 2006 under the Fisheries Research Institute at the local Kamarpukur area. Nine species of fish fry including Balachata, Khalisha, Gutam, Tangra and Bairali have been produced in this research centre so far.
These revived fish are being released in all the rivers of the country. Hatchery owners and farmers are also collecting fries of these fish from them. He is proud to be able to do research on the endangered fish of this region, he added.
Mentioning that the organisation has already received Ekushey Padak due to its huge success, Khandaker Rashidul Islam demanded to make the sub-centre into a full-fledged centre. He also hoped that the region would be prosperous soon to fill the fish shortage of the country.
