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HomePosts Tagged "Department of Fisheries (DoF)"
Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, India

States propose 5-Hectare limit, Increased Subsidies, and National Committee to boost sustainable shrimp aquaculture.

Union Secretary, Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, visited ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai and chaired the Review meeting of the Saline Water Shrimp Aquaculture in the Sates of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh through Video Conference in Mumbai. This meeting aimed to tap the potential of saline land resources for aquaculture, generating employment and livelihood opportunities. Likhi interacted with farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh for insights and on ground challenges and gaps faced by them in saline water aquaculture.

State-Specific Updates on Saline Aquaculture and Shrimp Farming

During the meeting, State Fisheries Officials provided updates on the status, progress, and key challenges in promoting inland saline and shrimp aquaculture. Uttar Pradesh highlighted the vast potential of inland saline aquaculture, covering 1.37 lakh hectares in districts such as Mathura, Agra, Hathras, and Raebareli, with significant initiatives supported under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). Rajasthan reported growing momentum in shrimp farming in salt-affected districts like Churu and Ganganagar, with approximately 500 hectares dedicated to the cultivation of Penaeus vannamei, milkfish, and pearl spot. Additionally, a diagnostic lab has been established in Churu under PMMSY. Punjab shared its achievements in expanding shrimp farming in southwestern districts such as Muktsar Sahib and Fazilka, bolstered by the Blue Revolution and PMMSY schemes. Notable developments include a 30-tonne cold storage and ice plant and a dedicated training centre. Haryana demonstrated significant progress in saline aquaculture, having achieved a production of 13,914 tons with an investment of Rs 57.09 crore under PMMSY. Furthermore, ICAR-CIFE shared valuable best practices and technical insights to enhance the productivity and sustainability of saline water aquaculture.

In the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, approximately 58,000 hectares of saline area has been identified, yet only around 2,608 hectares is currently being utilized. There is huge potential to convert these saline affected areas into aquaculture hubs. These saline-affected lands, often unsuitable for traditional agriculture, hold immense potential to be transformed from wastelands to wealth lands. India, being the second-largest producer of cultured shrimp globally, earns over 65 per cent of its seafood export value from shrimp alone. Despite the country’s vast potential in brackish water and shrimp aquaculture particularly in saline-affected areas, inland saline aquaculture resources continue to remain significantly underutilised.

Challenges Faced by Farmers in Saline Water Aquaculture

In the review, farmers from Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh raised several challenges that are impacting the viability and sustainability of their saline water aquaculture operations. They highlighted issues of high setup costs, inadequate subsidy coverage, and the restrictive 2-hectare area limit for saline water aquaculture. Other significant concerns included fluctuating salinity levels, high land lease rates, reductions in subsidies, and the lack of locally available, high-quality seed.

Proposals for Strengthening the Sector and Collaborative Efforts

In response to these challenges, the states called for enhanced central support to strengthen the sector. Key proposals included raising the unit cost for aquaculture operations to Rs 25 lakh, increasing the area limit from 2 hectares to 5 hectares, and enhancing subsidies for polythene lining. The establishment of an Integrated Aqua Park in Sirsa and improvements to marketing channels were also recommended to ensure better price realization and long-term sustainability. The Department of Fisheries emphasised the need for collaborative efforts between the states, ICAR, and other agencies to develop strategies for utilizing saline land resources more effectively for aquaculture. A focus was placed on organizing awareness campaigns with ICAR, State Fisheries Departments, and other stakeholders to promote shrimp consumption in northern India, gap analysis for development of potential clusters and expand cultivation area in the identified 25 districts of the four States. States were encouraged to leverage Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to disseminate technical knowledge, identify new areas for saline aquaculture, and conduct outreach-based research.

States propose 5-Hectare limit, Increased Subsidies, and

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy, India

Planning meeting that aimed to kick-start the event planning along with understanding on-ground challenges and stakeholder expectations

Department of Fisheries under the chairmanship of Parshottam Rupala, Union Minster of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAH&D), Government of India, organised the planning meeting for ‘Sagar Parikrama’ Phase III in New Delhi. The program was attended by JS (Marine Fisheries), DoF GoI, welcomed all participants and set the agenda for the meeting while Secretary, DoF GoI, summarised the last two programs and highlighted that key activities such as completion and upgradation of harbours, promotion of artificial reefs etc should be promoted amongst fishermen communities.

Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister, MoFAH&D launched the Marathi version of the “Sagar Parikrama Song”. Further, he thanked all participants for joining the meeting, share their thoughts and determine to make the program a success.

Phase III program of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ is being organized in the state of Maharashtra and a tentative plan was proposed by the state officials. The program locations and dates were deliberated upon by the officials as per weather suitability and other influencing factors. Plausible options for locations to hold rallies, site visits, house visits etc were discussed. The state officials also put forth on-ground challenges that they maybe posed with during preparation of the program for discussion and guidance by the leadership.

The meeting is a planning meeting that aimed to kick-start the event planning along with understanding on-ground challenges and stakeholder expectations. The interactions aim to resolve the issues of the fishers and other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs being implemented by the Government of India such as ‘Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’ (PMMSY), KCC and FIDF.

Planning meeting that aimed to kick-start the

Acquaculture, AgroPolicy

The webinar was intended to open a forum to initiate a dialogue about the crucial role of fisheries cooperatives in bringing out prosperity in the lives of fish farmers.

The Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry & Dairying, organized a webinar on “Potential & Role of Fisheries Cooperatives”. This was the 14th webinar organized by the department in an effort to celebrate the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, marking 75 years of India’s independence.

The event was presided over by Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries (DoF), Government of India (GOI) along with Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), Dr J Balaji, Joint Secretary (Marine Fisheries) along with other officials of the Department. This webinar was intended to open a forum to initiate a dialogue about the crucial role of fisheries cooperatives in bringing out prosperity in the lives of fish farmers, leading towards holistic sectoral development. 

More than 100 participants including expert panellists, fishers, farmers, entrepreneurs, members of fisheries cooperative societies, fisheries officials of different States/UTs, faculties from State Agriculture, Veterinary and Fisheries universities, Fisheries cooperative officers, Scientists, students and other stakeholders from the fisheries value-chain across the country attended the webinar.

Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Fisheries said, “With the increased production and productivity in the Indian fisheries sector, the Government has been focusing more on establishing cooperatives to enable small-scale fishers to avail support for institutional credit, quality inputs, transportation, logistic etc. through collectivization”.

Sagar Mehra shared his views on the significance of institutionalizing fisheries cooperatives in India. He also mentioned that fisheries being a sunrise sector, there is a need to learn from the best practices from the dairy, agriculture industries and try to use the learnings for developing cooperatives in the fisheries sector.

Sandeep Kumar Nayak, Director General, NCP; Dr. K.P. Rajan, Director, DNS Regional Institute of Cooperative Management, Patna; Dr. S. Noorjahan Beevi, Additional Director of Fisheries, Tamil Nadu and Mr. Anil Rana, Board of Director, AgriOrganic Producer Company Ltd, Una, HP shared their valuable thoughts during the expert panel sessions. Towards the end, the forum was open for interactive discussion with a wide range of questions and answers from all participants.

The webinar was intended to open a

Acquaculture, Agrotech, Live Stock

Discussions were held on Neoteric Techniques and Technologies in Fisheries and Aquaculture

Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India recently organised a webinar on ‘Neoteric Techniques and Technologies in Fisheries and Aquaculture’. The event was presided over by Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries (DoF), Government of India (GOI) and well-attended by more than 350 participants including fishers, farmers, entrepreneurs, officials of Department of Fisheries, GoI and fisheries officials of different States/UTs, faculties from state agriculture, veterinary and fisheries universities, scientists, hatchery owners, students and stakeholders from aquaculture industry across the country.

In his inaugural address, Union Secretary Fisheries, Shri Swain highlighted the growth and development of fisheries sector over the recent years and added that there is ample scope and need of expansion and diversification of Indian fisheries and aquaculture with the help of advanced technologies. He further requested the scientists and entrepreneurs to motivate farmers and develop innovative ways for increasing profits, decreasing input cost, species diversification and increasing the production and productivity of fish species and commercialize these techniques. 

Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), in his opening remarks, briefly highlighted that GOI is promoting scientific methods, innovations and infusion of modern technologies by providing financial assistance under various schemes which can benefit fishers and farmers of the country using latest techniques and the need of research and development in focus areas.

The webinar began with the welcome address by Sanjay Pandey, Assistant Commissioner, DoF along with introduction of the theme of the Webinar and the distinguished panelists, Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries) along with Dr AP Sharma, Former Director, ICAR-CIFRI and Dr L Narasimha Murthy, Senior Executive Director, NFDB and other participants. 

During the technical session, Dr AP Sharma, Former Director- ICAR CIFRI made a comprehensive presentation on ‘Technological trends in fisheries and aquaculture’ focusing on the reproductive innovations, productivity trends, molecular technologies, along with commercially viable trends like RAS, biofloc technology, coldwater fisheries, ornamental fisheries, multi trophic aquaculture, aquatic health management, genetics and biotechnology along with future technologies highlighted the importance of investing in good quality fish feed for ensuring high quality fish is produced and reared. 

Dr L Narasimha Murthy, Senior Executive Director, NFDB gave an insightful presentation on ‘Training & Capacity building on new technologies in fisheries and aquaculture’ and highlighted the significance of skill & capacity building of fishers/fish farmers for building a pool of skilled workforce in the Aquaculture activities. 

After the presentation, a session sharing the success stories was also held and stories highlighting the success aquaculture ventures were presented by the Department of Fisheries, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which served as motivation of the participants. This was followed by an open discussion forum with the participants, led by Sagar Mehra with Dr AP Sharma and Dr L Narasimha Murthy, focusing on real-time successful techniques being invented and practiced by fish farmers accross the country. The forum also provided an opportunity to the participants to ask relevant questions and queries about benefits under various schemes run by the GoI. 

The webinar concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr SK Dwivedi, Assistant Commissioner, DoF.

Discussions were held on Neoteric Techniques and