The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh on November 21, 2019 inaugurated the celebrations of World Fisheries Day, 2019 at NASC Complex, PUSA, New Delhi.
Two parts of fisheries
The Union Minister said that Fisheries is divided in two parts, one part is the Marine fisheries which taps the long coastline of India and the other is Inland fishery which is done in Rivers,Canals, Ponds and other small water bodies. He said that people have harvested but not done ranching and also misused during the ban period when fishes mate which has led to a loss of potential and that these should be regulated so as to ensure that fishing is done in a scientific and sustainable manner. Taking the example of Vietnam, Shri Singh said that their productivity is upto 20 times better that that in India and wok needs to be done on that aspect.
Addressing the gathering, Secretary Fisheries Smt.Rajni Sekhri Sibal said that India has a wide variety of fishes and a huge coastal belt.
Talking about the marketability of fishes, she said that Trout Fish from Kashmir sells for Rs. 250 in markets of Srinagar but when they come to Delhi, they are sold for 1200 to 1500 but the export prospects are even higher since there is very high demand and the fishermen can get a very good rate for the produce. She further added that Government policy is to promote exports so that fisherman can directly export with help of value chain, cold storage, hatcheries, nurseries, disease control centres etc.but the feed&seeds should be of a good qualityand pathogen free.
The Secretary also gave the example of Iceland which uses all parts of the fish and especially the skin is most expensive whereas in India 25% of fish is wasted. She said that the Department needs to work on this and ensure that this loss is minimized. Talking about the output she said that in 2014-15, 10million metric ton (MMT) was produced while it has increased to 13 MMT now and in the next 5 years the target is to increase produce to 20 MMT. Even the productivity which was 2.3tons per hectare earlier has now been increased to 3 tons per hectare.
About World Fisheries day
World Fisheries day is celebrated every year on 21 November throughout the world by fishing communities.
A recent United Nations study reported that more than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested and more than one third are in a state of decline because of factors such as the loss of essential fish habitats, pollution, and global warming.
The focus of this year is on ‘social sustainability throughout the long and complex value chains of the fisheries and aquaculture sector. ‘
