Realising that switching to hybrid makes sense for both growers and consumers in the state, fishermen welfare and fisheries development department has gone ahead with fish farming of popular varieties. The department intends to ramp up production of fish like rohu and katla and pangasius in the state, which will benefit those into fish culture for livelihood. Cage culture fish farming technique is being used for the purpose. To start with, around 1,000 cages are being placed in Indira Sagar dam and Dahod dam of the state. The technique will be gradually introduced in other reservoirs of the state. A sum of Rs 50,000 is required per cage. In a normal reservoir, 50 kg to 70 kg of fish is produced per hectare while in cage culture fish farming, the production goes up to over 2,000 ton per hectare, officials said. Department’s principal secretary Vinod Kumar said 6 by 4 metre net is used for cage culture. A target to place 1,000 cages has been set for this year, which will be increased. Apart from meeting local demand, fish supply goes up to Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi and West Bengal, he says. For 2016-17, fish production in the state was set at 10,6,000 tonnes. For next financial year, the target is set at 1.22 lakh ton. Officials said while natural seeds grow to a weight of around 700 grams in a year, the improved hybrid seeds grow to around 1.5 kg in the same time. For promoting cage culture to increase fish production, the department provides a subsidy of 40%. In reservoirs, fish survive on natural feed. In cage culture, the feeding is done manually from the top. States like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are already using cage culture to promote production in their state, officials said. Officials said emphasis is to cut role of middleman and direct benefits to fishermen. Fish production is expected to double in next five years with fresh initiatives. As per norm, the fishing contract for a lake of the size of 1,000 hectare is given by village panchayat while open auction is conducted by fishing federation of the lakes above 1,000 hectares. In both cases, involvement of local fishermen is ensured so that those into in fishing business can earn profit and continue to do work in the field, officials say.