Fisheries dept tries hard to push inland fishing across state

The Maharashtra fisheries department is working on all projects to increase fish production of the state.

At present it gets through marine (sea) fishing 4.5 metric tonne fish while from ponds and lakes it gets 1.5 metric tons a year.

This, however, is equal to the consumption level of the state. Therefore, to increase the production level it is now concentrating more on inland fishing activity.

VV Naik, joint commissioner of fishing department, said, “We are focusing more on inland fishing as marine fishing has some restrictions. We can expand inland fishing. Hence, a cage culture is been adopted. At present the state is doing inland fishing on 4.18 lakh hectares of water spread area.”

To increase fish production, the state is providing fishing seeds to farmers, Mahdev Jankar, state minister, told FPJ. “Currently our state purchases seeds from West Bengal and some other states for which we spend Rs 3 crore. To save that Rs 3 crore we are developing seed-producing hatchery centres. Currently, we have 30 such centres which produce seven crore seeds of sweet water fish. Also, we have artificial mini portable hatcheries.”

Across Maharashtra there are 12,000 mechanised boats and 1,200 non-mechanised boats; both types hold licenses. There is a 1.92 lakh-strong fishing community in the state and they have been provided biometric cards, Naik said. He added, “In Maharashtra, four types of fishing are done. First is through bag net, the traditional way to catch small fish like Bombay Duck. Second, gill-net fishing to catch big fish like Pomfret. The third method is trawl-net fishing which also means bottom fishing (dragging). The fourth technique is by using purse seine net.”

Naik said, “For purse seine net we have increased the size of the net so that small fish do not get trapped. Also, the state government passed on the circular to use the net only for a restricted period, from September till December. The net can be used during this time as the breeding period finishes.”

“The cost of purse seine net is from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Currently, the state requires 282 nets. However, we have 444 nets which are more than the requirement. Hence we are not giving any more licences for purse seine net fishing,” he said.