While answering a question on fish production in the Assembly on November 22, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the overall production in the State was 17.42 lakh metric tonnes last year.
The State Fisheries Department has also prepared a roadmap for increasing the production of fishes in the next couple of years. A committee comprising seven to eight departments has been set up for the purpose. The plan is to make Bengal self-sufficient in fish production.
Under the Jal Dharo Jal Bharo Scheme, 2.5 lakh ponds have been dug to encourage pisciculture. Further, she said, initiatives have been taken to produce big fish, which take two years to grow, in 700 ponds. Unused waterbodies are being utilised for pisciculture.
A pisciculture research centre has been set up for further development of the sector. Initiatives have also been taken for production of hilsa in the state itself, she added.
Source: Millennium Post