Guwahati: The Aquaculture and Biodiversity Centre of Gauhati University has highlighted natural breeding of fish to increase production at a time when the state is still heavily dependant on imported varieties.

The centre has been providing training on natural breeding and rearing techniques to local people, including farmers who belong to the backward areas, for sustainable livelihood generation and uplift of rural economy.

Jatin Kalita, a teacher of Gauhati University, said: "Increase in natural breeding will boost production. If production increases, there will be no need to import fish from outside. Natural breeding system ensures long sustainability than the one which is used to keep fish fresh for a long time by using formalin."

On Wednesday, governor and Gauhati University chancellor Jagdish Mukhi visited the centre which is looking forward to collaborating with the state fisheries department in the future. He took a stroll on the campus spread across 16 acres and praised the research effort to increase fish production through natural breeding.

"Fish breed during summer. At the centre, we manipulate the environment through aquatic housing system that regulate the temperature and conduction process to make it favourable for natural fish breeding," Kalita said.

The centre, established in 2014, has nine ponds of which five are rearing ponds and four are nursery ponds. Two natural swampy areas are also kept on the campus of the centre for rearing and culture of air-breathing fish.

"We already had a successful project by engaging local people and farmers in selected backward places of Goalpara and Abhyapuri to help them develop skills on natural fish breeding recently.

"We are now engaged with the people in Kulsi, 45km from Guwahati, by engaging them in training programmes on natural breeding and rearing techniques of fish," said Dhanadhar Sarma, deputy coordinator of the centre.

The centre has three research scholars and five project assistants working under it.