The one-month mission during the period from 18 April to 18 May 1986 was the initial assignment in the supposed-to-be two-month pre-project activities to have been started in October, 1985 as called for in the Project Document, designed for the project team (an Aquaculturist, an Aquaculture Engineer and a Hatchery Specialist) to altogether undertake the selection of sites for prawn hatcheries and for pilot fish farms and/or evaluation of existing experimental and demonstration farms for remodelling and the preparation of model designs and operational procedures for farms in the five site types.
The writer joined Ms. J. Primavera, hatchery specialist who arrived earlier, during her visits to the east coast for hatchery site selection and, when she left, with Mr. O. Millous, aquaculturist, to the east and west coasts of the country's experimental and demonstration fishfarms and to the brackishwater sites previously identified as possible areas for pilot model development. Mr. N.P. Bhakta, the National Project Director accompanied the team during the visits.
For the duration of the mission, occular surveys were made to select suitable brackishwater sites prior to the preparation of a pilot model and, to evaluate existing fishfarms offered by State Governments to possibly become by remodelling, pilot model for the respective site type. There was no time left for doing the remaining project activities of preparing model designs as planned and/or how the existing farms, if these qualify to become pilot models, shall be modified and improved. A summary of suggestions for improving the engineering designs are however, presented.
Preparation of the pilot model by new development will require substantial site investigations for suitability, and the guidelines in site investigations are presented as Annexure B.
In all the places visited, the senior local official (s) concerned gave a general briefing, tracing the work done since development and including progress and/or failures made in aquaculture production. This was generally followed by questions and answers session during which were presented considerable problems. After each major visit, the project team met to compare notes and discuss the findings briefly, with some efforts made to reconcile differences in understanding.
The hosts invariably expressed their interest in almost all aspects and asked the team to give their views and suggestions for the improvement of the farms and their operational procedures; furnished the team useful and relevant literature which the team found useful.
