Producing fish in a hilly state could sound unusual but Himachal Pradesh has done it with aplomb.
Heralding a Blue Revolution, the fishery industry in Himachal Pradesh has produced 42,881 metric tonne of fish worth Rs 38,994 lakh in the past four years, an official said on Sunday.
The fisheries department is earning more than Rs 4 crore annually and with the technical assistance of the Central Institute of Technology in Kochi, the state is establishing four fish processing units — one each at Bhakra and Pong dams, Katauhad Kalan in Una district and Ratyod in Solan district.
To create self-employment opportunities in the fishery sector, an official said schemes amounting to Rs35 crore apart from regular budgetary provision were sanctioned and implemented in the past four years.
A sum of Rs13 crore is being spent alone under the Blue Revolution scheme during this fiscal. Under the scheme, hatcheries, fish farms, small and big fish ponds, fishery feed units and trout units are being established.
The spokesperson said to engage the youth in fisheries activities, various schemes are being implemented in the state. For construction of pond of one hectare size, financial assistance of Rs1 lakh is being provided to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe applicants, and Rs80,000 to the general category.
With the concerted efforts of the state government and keen interest shown by the people towards fisheries activities, full-time self employment has been provided to 6,098 fishermen in major reservoirs of the state.
The department is providing fishery support services through 12 fish seed farms out of which six are trout and the remaining carp farms.
Two more trout farms are under construction at Thala in Bharmour area and Banjar in Hamani area, besides one carp fish farm at Paonta Sahib. The funds have been sanctioned for a rainbow aquarium-cum-museum centre at Dharwala in Chamba district.
With the introduction of rainbow trout production technique, 611 more trout units have been established in the state, he said. The major fish species available in the streams of Himachal Pradesh are trout, mahseer, barilus and glyptothorax.
Two species — Hungarian common carp and Amoor common carp — have been imported and multiplied in the state.
The official said The State Government provides financial assistance to the fishermen when the fishery season is off. The financial assistance which has been increase from rupees 1800 to rupees 3000 is distributed to them in two installments. Proportionate amount is contributed by Central and State Governments where as a part of amount is contributed by the fishermen with a deposit of Rs100 per month in consecutive 10 fishing months.
The State Government is also providing training and technical guidance to the entrepreneurs who adopt fish farming as self-employment. Besides, the government is also providing financial assistance for the renovation of ponds and tanks, to prepare new pond, to establish fish feed units and for the integrated fish farming.