Rs 300 crore approved for Sagarmala scheme to encourage marine fishing

'India is third largest producer of fish in the world'

Joint Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Aditya Joshi said plans have been chalked out for the development of fisheries sector as part of the Blue Revolution.

Speaking at a conference organised by the department here recently, he said, India, with a total fish production of 10.07 million metric tonnes, stands third in the production of fish and second in aquaculture. Fisheries contribute 1.1 per cent of the GDP and 5.15 per cent of the agricultural GDP, he added.

The Blue Revolution is aimed at increasing the production of fish, introducing modern techniques in fishing, generating employment in the sector and  providing food security.
The Cabinet Committee has approved Sagarmala scheme at a total outlay of Rs 300 crore spread over five years. The project is meant for encouragement of marine fishing which continues exploration of near shore resources in sustainable manner, development of fishing harbours and fish landing centres, development of cold chain for fisheries, covering cold storage, processing plants, ice plants, fish markets, refrigerated and insulated fish transport and so on, he added.

Also, in the area of inland fishing, there are objectives for setting up of hatcheries, brood stock multiplication centres, fish feed mills and plants at affordable rates. At the same time, focus is needed on the prevention and control of diseases, modern marketing facilities and cage culture, he said and added that state governments have a crucial role to play in the project.

M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Director Nancy J Anabel, making a presentation on ‘Role of ICT and Space Technology in Fisheries’, said that the ICT-enabled Village Resource Centre, started by the foundation, has been addressing the issues of lack of real time information, uncertainty in weather conditions, reduction in fish catch, limited knowledge and skill, coastal erosion and related things. Fishermen-friendly mobile phone applications have also been developed in this regard.

A multilingual helpline has been started in various coastal states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry and Odisha. So far, 93 lives have been saved by the timely intervention of the helpline and knowledge centre, along with the operations by Indian Coast Guard, Nancy said.