Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Thursday stressed on the need to bring fish farmers into organised sector for enabling them to take benefit of various government schemes, besides tackling challenges of marine pollution and illegal fishing.Addressing an event on 'World Fisheries Day', the minister of fisheries, animal husbandry & dairying highlighted that India is the world's second largest fish producer and expressed confidence that the country will soon become top producer globally.India's fish production has surged 82 per cent to 175.45 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013-14.Singh credited the sharp rise in fish production to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's various measures in the last 10 years to boost growth in the fishery sector, including Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana and Fisheries and Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).He said three crore people are directly involved in the fishery sector.Listing out the challenges faced by the sector, Singh said there is a need to bring fish farmers from unorganised to organised sector.The minister said these fish farmers are being registered on a platform to ensure they fall in organised sector and take advantage of schemes like Kisan Credit Card and insurance.Singh also emphasised on reducing marine pollution and getting rid of plastics from sea.He also talked about the need of stopping illegal and unregulated fishing activities.The minister said the government is taking steps to address these challenges and strengthen the fishery sector.
