A demonstration unit of mussel farming was installed at St Estevam at an awareness programme on mussel farming held on Friday.
Fisheries experts demonstrated the release of a total of 35 ropes carrying mussel seeds into the waterbody and educated the fish farmers on the science behind rearing and harvesting the mussels. Nearly 100 farmers attended the programme.
“With 35 ropes of mussel seeds, farmers can harvest up to 50kg mussels. This is, therefore, a very profitable business for unemployed youth and farmers living near river areas,” Monteiro said.
The salinity or amount of dissolved salts in water in rivers is usually expressed in parts per thousand (ppt). To be eligible for mussel cultivation in Goa, the river’s salinity should be above 27 ppt following which fish farmers in the vicinity can be encouraged to take up mussel farming.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, general category beneficiaries will get financial assistance of 40% of unit cost up to Rs 20,000 and assistance of 60% of unit cost up to Rs 20,000 to ST/SC/women beneficiaries for bivalve cultivation.