NAGAPATTINAM: A 51-year-old woman from the fisherfolk community at Keechankuppam in the district is setting standards for her peers in dry fish making as she under the guidance of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sikkal, is adopting hygienic practices even under modest conditions.
While there are around 200 units in the proximity of Nagapattinam fishing harbour preparing dry fish, many of them wash the fish in pools of stagnant seawater or in the backwaters of River Kaduvaiyar before processing. B Elatchi, however, is setting precedents among her peers by setting up a motor pump and a borewell in her dry fish unit. She uses groundwater to clean the fish and process them into 'Karuvadu' (dry fish), a value-added product high in demand in the market.
“Washing in fresher and cleaner pumped water is better as harmful bacteria such as Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli could be present in seawater drawn from places such as the fishing harbour. Elatchi's work process has lesser risks as she uses groundwater," said Dr A Gopalakannan, the programme coordinator at ICAR-KVK (Sikkal).
Elatchi's cottage industry, which is located at the entrance of Nagapattinam fishing harbour, takes the assistance of seven employees. Under the guidance of KVK-Sikkal, Elatchi has also framed guidelines for her staff like wearing aprons, gloves and masks while grating, splitting, salting and packing the items.
KVK experts have also trained Elatchi to use salt judiciously according to the fish variety and the quantity. Dr A Mathivanan, a fish processing technology expert from ICAR-KVK (Sikkal) who trains fisherfolk on value-added products said, "Many dry fish makers use salt indiscriminately while making the products. The addition of excessive salt in dry fish can increase blood pressure in consumers. We hence advise ‘fishpreneurs’ like Elatchi to apply salt consciously while making dry fish."
B Elatchi told TNIE, "As we follow hygiene and health standards in production more, we can connect with more traders and distributors to market the items. We are also able to win trust from more consumers."
Commenting on Elatchi’s venture, a fisheries department official in Nagapattinam said, "We recently set up raised platforms near Nagapattinam harbour for producers to dry the fish under the sun. We are also sensitising the producers to various government schemes to expand their ventures, buy equipment and follow hygiene standards like Elatchi."