This archive report was first published on 24 August 2020.
August 24, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the tourism industry to a standstill in India, with many luxury resorts forced to shut down. However, one resort in Kerala has found an innovative way to stay afloat.
The Aveda Resort, a popular destination for European tourists, has turned its 150-meter swimming pool into a fish farm. The pool, which normally holds 7.5 million liters of water, is now home to thousands of pearl spot fish.
The resort's general manager, Jyotish Surendran, told AFP that the decision to convert the pool into a fish farm was made in June, when the resort had zero revenues due to the pandemic. 'We have had zero revenues, so in June, we put around 16,000 two-month-old pearl spot fish in the pool,' he said.
The pearl spot fish, which takes about eight months to reach full size, is a popular ingredient in dishes in southern India and the Middle East. The resort plans to harvest the fish by November and export it to the Middle East, with an estimated value of $40,000.
While the fish farm will not cover the resort's losses from the pandemic, Surendran is hopeful that it will help cover basic bills until tourists return. 'We can't continue with this farm in the pool, but we are trying to find alternative land where we can build up this knowledge for bigger projects,' he said.
