DUMURIA, KHULNA, Mar 5: The shrimp farming in Dumuria Upazila of the district has been profitable with higher demand and price in both local and foreign markets.
Shrimp fry is easily available and at limited investment shrimp farms can be raised. Shrimp can be farmed for the whole year.
At present, it has been possible to increase shrimp production to 1,000 kilogram (kg) from 300 kg per hectare (ha) by using modern technology. Countrys 78 per cent of fish export earning come from shrimp exports. Both earning and employment in the shrimp sector have increased by about 50 per cent.
Under the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project of the Department of Fisheries, a group of 25 fish farmers have cultivated shrimp in cluster system in Tipna Village of the upazilas Khornia Union.
After getting higher profits from Galda farming, they are now reluctant to cultivate Boro paddy.
President of Tipna Shrimp Farming Cluster Sheikh Mahtab Hossain said, he has been cultivating shrimp for the last 25 years. Its General Secretary Md Forhad Hossain Sardar said, "I have been farming shrimp for a long time."
He said, he has got manifold profits from shrimp than paddy.
"We will get more profit if advance shrimp is farmed, instead of Boro," he added.
The shrimp farming firstly started in Khulna Regions Satkhira Sadar, Debihata, Kaliganj and Shymnagar upazilas. Later on, the shrimp farming made spreading in Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, and Jashore in a scattered manner.
In 1983-84, Bagda shrimp cultivation area in Bangladesh was on about 51,081 ha, and the per ha average production was about 85 kg/production circle.
In the scientific system, Galda shrimp cultivation began in fresh water in different countries of the world in the 1950s. In the end of 1970s, it started in Bangladesh.
At that time, experimental researches were conducted on Galda in Japan, Hawaii, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan. In Bangladesh there was almost no neutral area for Galda farming before 1971. Then Galda would be farmed on 2,500 ha of land, with a production of 40-100 kg per ha.
In 1980 and 90s, shrimp cultivation began at a large scale in entire coastal and internal marshes.
At present, turning away from the conventional farming system, high technology is being used in the shrimp cultivation.
