Fish farmers in Naogaon are paying Tk500 to Tk900 more per kilogram for carp spawn from private hatcheries as the district’s government fish seed farm cannot meet demand, leaving the private sector to fill the supply gap.
Naogaon has 31 private hatcheries producing around 13 tonnes of carp spawn annually, meeting local demand and supplying neighbouring districts. The government Fish Seed Production Farm has set a production target of 200kg of spawn for the 2025–26 fiscal year, with expected revenue of Tk7.80 lakh. The district fisheries department provides the private hatcheries with technical support and monitors their operations to maintain seed quality.
The government farm earned Tk7.09 lakh from 137kg of spawn in 2024–25, Tk6.85 lakh from 122kg in 2023–24, Tk6.52 lakh from 120kg in 2022–23 and Tk3.25 lakh from 77kg in 2021–22.
Located at Arji Naogaon in Naogaon town, the farm spans around 11 acres, including 10 ponds covering four and a half acres. Brood fish, including rohu, mrigal, catla, kalbaus, pangas and other species, are reared there to produce quality spawn.
The farm produces spawn for five months a year, but output remains below demand, forcing farmers to depend on private hatcheries.
Mir Boks, a fish farmer from Chakabarash village in Naogaon Sadar upazila, said fish raised from government farm spawn was cheaper, grew better and fetched higher prices. However, limited supply compels them to buy costlier spawn from private hatcheries.
Azim Uddin of Dublahati village said the government farm supplied quality spawn at lower prices, but production remained well below demand, forcing farmers to buy from private hatcheries at higher prices.
Fisheries officials said quality spawn depended on healthy, disease-free and improved brood fish collected from the Padma, Jamuna and other natural water bodies before breeding at government farms. Quality is monitored throughout the production process.
The district fisheries department also regularly monitors private hatcheries and provides technical advice, disease management support and assistance in maintaining production standards. People involved in the sector said the combined public-private effort was helping expand fish farming and strengthen fisheries development in the district.
Naogaon District Fisheries Officer Md Ferdous Ali said improved brood fish were essential for producing quality spawn and the department encouraged farmers to collect spawn from the government farm because its quality was ensured.
He said quality spawn accelerated fish growth, reduced mortality and significantly increased production, enabling farmers to earn higher profits.
Ferdous said research at the government farm should be expanded to develop more productive and climate-resilient fish varieties. He expressed hope that introducing such varieties would reduce production costs, increase farmers’ incomes and support sustainable fish production.
