Antarvedi water tank is home to rare sea fish

ANTERVEDI (EAST GODAVARI): The famous pilgrim town of Antervedi in East Godavari district, is all set to secure a berth on the global map, not for any religious reasons, but for production of 'Silver Pampano', a rare marine white fish, in salt water tanks.Silver Pampano is available only in seas abutting countries like East Africa, New Zealand, North Japan and South Australia.Vadapalli Srinivasa Raju, an aquaculturist from Palacole, produced the rare fish in his one acre saline water tank in Antervedi. Raju, who had released 3,400 fingerlings into the tank some six months ago, harvested one-and-half tonne of catch here on Tuesday.The pilot project taken up by the Central Marine Research Fish Institute (CMRFI), Cochin in association with Raju, has resulted in a good yield. The institute has been experimenting with the project for several years but has tasted success only after tying up with Raju.Speaking to Express, Raju said that the CMRFI provided the fingerlings and feed and helped in pumping salt water into his one acre tank from the sea. “I wanted to set an example for the aquaculturists along the coastline in the state. My success will inspire them to take up the fish culture as a serious venture,” he said.The Silver Pampano (Trachinotus blochii) can be cultivated twice in a year. Aquaculturists can get a production up to 20 metric tonnes every year by releasing 40,000 fingerlings in 10 acres of salt tank and earn up to `40 lakh, said the Palacole aquaculturist. The salt density should be between 5 PPT and 30 PPT for good growth of the fish.Each fish weighs about one to two kg and is sold for 10 US dollars per kg in the international market. The white fish is in demand for its high nutritious value, he added.