Fish farmers in Ekpan, Uvwie council area of Delta State are counting their losses, which run into millions following recent flood in the area.

President General of Uvwie Kingdom, Chief Austin Ukuwrere told newsmen that fishes in over 3,000 ponds were carried away by the flood.

Ukuwere explained that the waters overflowed the ponds and thousands of fishes stocked by farmers escaped.

He revealed that most of the farmers have become indebted, as they took huge loans to raise the fishes, with hopes to pay back upon harvest.

Among the affected ponds is Royal Fish Farm, one of the biggest, located in New Layout area of Ekpan.

The fish farm, which has different pond clusters, grows different size of fishes, drawing buyers from far and near.

On their parts, the Royal fish farmers blamed the flood on the lack of drainage systems in the area.

Conducting newsmen around the farm, the fish farmers lamented they were constrained to reconstruct the damaged ponds as well as re-stock the ponds.

They urged the state government to help clear the water channel, construct drainage in the area to help avert future flooding, as well as fix the road leading to the farm.

The flood incident, the farmers posited, has caused a setback in the efforts of the state government to encourage fish farming as a major boost to the agricultural sector.