{"id":23406,"date":"2025-10-14T18:04:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=23406"},"modified":"2025-10-14T18:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:04:17","slug":"thousands-of-fish-farms-wiped-out-as-floods-batter-punjab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=23406","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of fish farms wiped out as floods batter Punjab"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Where the recent rains and flooding in the rivers of Punjab have displaced millions across the plain areas, they have also severely damaged fish farms, causing a crisis in both fish production and its market supply in the province.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Punjab Fisheries Department, Kasur, Hafizabad, and Muzaffargarh are among the worst-affected districts, where dozens of fish farms have been partially or completely destroyed. The fast-flowing floodwaters washed away millions of fish into open waters, damaging earthen ponds, embankments, and other structures. Initial estimates suggest losses amounting to hundreds of millions of rupees.<\/p>\n<p>A fish farmer from Kasur, Muhammad Ashfaq, revealed that he had invested Rs2 million this year in fish farming, but the sudden flood washed everything away. Similarly, Nazir Ahmed, a farmer from Muzaffargarh, shared that he would neither be able to repay his bank loan nor prepare for the next season. \u201cThe baby fish I had raised were lost in the flood. If the government does not offer financial aid soon, my business may shut down,\u201d worried Ashfaq.<\/p>\n<p>According to Rana Shamshad, President of the Punjab Fish Farmers Association, around 40,000 to 45,000 acres of fish farms have been affected by the floods. \u201cOn my own 500-acre farm, all fish were lost, and infrastructure such as solar panels was also destroyed. Typically, the cost of fish farming on one acre is around Rs650,000 to Rs700,000, so the overall damage could run into billions. However, an accurate estimate will only be possible once floodwaters recede,\u201d noted Shamshad.<\/p>\n<p>Most of Punjab\u2019s fish production includes Kalba Rohu (a local carp species), which meets a significant portion of the country\u2019s demand. Experts believe this disaster has affected not just farmers, but the overall market as well. \u201cA large quantity of fish used to arrive daily from Southern and Central Punjab, but production has dropped by about 40 per cent due to flooding. As a result, prices are expected to rise by 30\u201340 per cent in the coming days,\u201d said Chaudhry Islam, President of the Lahore Fish Market.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, fish farming is a rapidly growing industry in Punjab. According to the Punjab Fisheries Department, there are currently 60,000 to 65,000 acres of land in the province producing various carp species and prawns. The fish farming sector plays a key role in the rural economy, providing livelihoods to thousands of families. However, experts warn that climate change and unpredictable weather patterns have instigated new challenges for this sector.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the situation, Director General of Punjab Fisheries Rana Saleem Afzal claimed that all affected districts had been instructed to prepare detailed damage reports of fish and prawn farms. \u201cThe Fish Farmers Association has been asked to estimate losses so a comprehensive report can be submitted to the government. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Senior Minister Maryam Aurangzeb have already announced that flood-affected farmers will not be left alone and that a special relief package will be provided for their recovery,\u201d assured Afzal.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, the Fish Farmers Association warned that if the government does not act immediately, thousands of farmers could go bankrupt, and the country may face a shortage of a major, affordable source of protein. In the meanwhile, experts have suggested that the government should waive existing farmer loans and provide easy loans for rebuilding ponds and\u00a0infrastructure.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where the recent rains and flooding in the rivers of Punjab have displaced millions across the plain areas, they have also severely damaged fish farms, causing a crisis in both fish production and its market supply in the province. According to the Punjab Fisheries Department, Kasur, Hafizabad, and Muzaffargarh are among the worst-affected districts, where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}