Profitability in inland fishery sector – A case study in the district of Midnapore (East & West)

Inland water resource is such a source, which is yet to be properly utilized by the rural people. If the water bodies, private or public, are fully utilized to cultivate fishes adopting scientific fish culture, it may provide huge money in the hands of the rural people throughout the year as fish has a good market round the year in our country and abroad. It may be noted that all sizes of ponds generate much higher return on investment, indicating that the fish farming is one most profitable operation. Through the types of work involved in fish cultivation, the rural people generate extra income by way of the opportunity cost of notional wages of family labour. As the demand of fish remains throughout the year, the fish culture is also continued throughout the year for which the scope of employment in this sector is never reduced. In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate and analyse, with the help of relevant data and information from various Govt. institutions and field survey, the performance of fish farmers adopting either the scientific culture or traditional fish culture.