Centre asks states to address gaps in fishery sector in upcoming annual plans

The Centre has asked state governments to address the gaps that still exist in the fishery sector in their upcoming annual plans by prioritising the value chain. This was communicated to state fisheries department officials at a workshop organised recently to formulate strategies for annual action plans for 2023-23 and 2024-25, an official statement said.

''Tremendous efforts have been put in by states/UTs for increasing fish production whilst gaps exist in prioritising other aspects of the fisheries' value chain at the state level,'' said Union Fishery Secretary Jatindra Nath Swain said.

The rectification actions are required to be taken up by relooking and replanning upcoming state annual plans, he added.

The Secretary asked the state governments to set priorities at a local level, along with the priorities of the central government.

He advised that special attention may be given to sufficient seed production as the most basic activity to propel the sectoral activities, take on a collaborative approach amongst states and the Centre for activities, such as installation of artificial reefs, cold-chain, MIS data management, expansion of fish markets (Fish Bazaar), promotion and marketing of frozen fish, among others. Priority areas mentioned along with the strategic rationale are likely to serve as guidelines for state/UT officials to set priorities for chalking out FY2023-25 detailed annual action plan, he said.

In addition, he emphasised that each state/UT should evaluate its resources and current situations to formulate detailed annual action plans.

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