The Hindu                18.04.2013

More mobile fish stalls for city; fish fest next month

In a boost to a popular facility, the city will soon get
more mobile fish stalls. Two such stalls already exist, and sell whole
as well as dressed fish across different localities.

Minister
for fisheries, K.A. Jayapal, on Wednesday announced that eight more
vehicles would be procured at a total cost of Rs. 80 lakh for the State.
A majority of these vans would be pressed into service in Chennai,
where there are still untapped markets, he said.

Moving
the demand for the fisheries department, he said that in order to
improve the marketing of hygienic fish and fish products, existing fish
markets in Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirupur — being run by the department
— would be modernised at a cost of Rs. 36 lakh. There are three such
markets in Chennai at Nandanam, Anna Nagar and Adyar.

The
city will also get one more State-run restaurant in Neelankarai. At
present, there are fish restaurants in Santhome and Nandanam that are
run by the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation (TNFDC).

In
2012-13, sales of fish touched 370 tonnes, and peaked on Wednesdays,
Saturdays and Sundays. On Sundays alone, two tonnes of fish are sold
through various outlets in the city. With the government providing funds
for more outlets, sales are likely to increase, he said. This year, the
target has been set at 450 tonnes.

The Minister also
said that as announced by the Chief Minister recently, a fish festival
will be held in Chennai from May 9-12 at the Island grounds. At the
festival, a variety of ornamental fish, fresh water fish and marine fish
will be displayed. Competitions, including those for aquarium hobbyists
as well as for fish food recipes, will be conducted.

For
those in the fish processing industry, attractions will include
aquaculture inputs, machinery for aquaculture and fish processing and
fishing equipment.

A total of Rs. 1 crore will be
spent on the festival that is to be conducted in association with the
TNFDC and the Tamil Nadu State Apex Cooperative Federation Ltd.