The State Government has set a target to develop ponds and tanks on additional 15,000 hectares of land for freshwater aquaculture in all the districts by 2020, said Fisheries Secretary Bishnu Prasad Sethi on Thursday.
Presenting a keynote address at a workshop on the Odisha Fisheries Policy 2015 held here, Sethi said the proposed fish farming would create an additional direct employment to 60,000 persons and indirect employment to 1,20,000 persons through ancillary activities.
He informed that fish productivity in freshwater would be enhanced ideally from 2.13 tonnes/ ha to 3.5 tonnes/ ha from extensive farming practices and from 2.60 tonnes/ ha to 5 tonnes/ ha in semi-intensive systems and 10 tonnes per ha in intensive systems.
It is projected to increase the inland fish production of the State from the present level of 2.63 lakh MT to about 5.30 lakh MT in the next five years, he added.
With these interventions, the total fish production of the State would be increased from the present level of 4.67 lakh MT to 7.15 lakh MT by the end of 2019-20.
In 2014-15 fiscal, the State had produced 4.67 lakh MT of fish from all sources and earned Rs 2069.17 crore from export of fisheries products, Sethi informed.
The Odisha Fisheries Policy, 2015 was approved by the State Cabinet and published in the Odisha Gazette on September 2.
The seminar titled ‘Dissemination Workshop on Odisha Fisheries Policy, 2015’ was held in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Pradeep Maharathy inaugurated the event.
Among others, Chief Secretary GC Pati, Development Commissioner UN Behera, Additional Chief Secretary Finance R Balakrishnan and Director of Fisheries P Krishna Mohan were present.