The target of shrimp production may not be achieved in Satkhira district this fiscal due to widespread virus infection in the shrimp enclosures.
Local shrimp farmers said the shrimp enclosures were affected due to nurturing of virus affected fry. They said they are losing interest in shrimp production as they are facing huge loss.
Although a PCR machine was installed here one and half years ago for detecting virus in shrimp fries, the Fisheries Department could not yet make it operative.
District Fisheries Department sources said shrimps were cultivated on about 70,000 hectares of land this year and a target was set to produce 18,000 tonnes of shrimp worth about Tk 900 crore.
Biswajit Sadhu, a shrimp cultivator of Patkelghata area, said this year virus infection in the shrimp enclosures is much higher than the previous years.
“Some 85 to 90 fries die if 100 fries are released which is causing huge loss to the farmers”, he said.
Local shrimp farmers alleged that the PCR lab was not made operative due to secret understanding between fisheries officials and hatchery owners.
If the supply of virus-free fry could not be ensured the shrimp industry, which occupied the second position after readymade garments (RMG) in terms of earning foreign currencies in Bangladesh, will face ruination, they said.
Hasanuzzaman Chowdhury, a fisheries official, said the lab could not be made operative as the government not yet determined how much fee the farmers would be charged for testing in the lab.