Sagar Parikrama Phase-IV to begin on Mar 18 in K'taka; to cross 3 districts

The government on Friday said the fourth phase of 'Sagar Parikrama'-- which aims to resolve the issues of fishermen and other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment through various schemes -- will begin on Saturday, covering three coastal districts of Karnataka.

During the two-day journey, certificates/sanctions related to Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Kisan Credit Card and state schemes will be awarded to the progressive fishermen, especially coastal fishermen, it said.

According to the fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying ministry, phase-IV of Sagar Parikrama programme will take place from March 18-19. It will cover the stretch of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala and state minister concerned besides officials and stakeholders will be present at the event.

Phase-I of the programme had started on March 5, 2022 from Mandvi, Gujarat to Okha-Dwarka, and concluded at Porbandar the next day covering 3 locations. The programme was a huge success, with more than 5,000 people physically attending the event.

Phase-II was held on September 23-25 and covered seven locations, while phase-III was held on February 18-21 and covered coastal districts of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Karnataka has 5.74 lakh hectare of freshwater sources and Dakshina Kannada alone contributes 40 per cent of the total catch followed by Uttara Kannada (31 per cent ) and Udupi (29 per cent).

Mangaluru and Malpe fishing harbours are the main contributors in the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, respectively. The state has 9.84 lakh fishers and 729 fishermen cooperative societies.

The fish production from Karnataka contributed about 6.6 per cent of India's total fish production in 2021-22 financial year and ranks 3rd in total fish production.

The country has a coastline of 8,118 km, covering nine maritime states and four union territories, providing livelihood support to 2.8 million coastal fisher folk.

India contributes 8 per cent of the global share of fish production and is ranked 3rd largest fish producer in the world.