WB fisheries deptt aims 18.5 lakh-tonne production in FY19

The West Bengal Fisheries Department is on course to reach 18.5 lakh-tonne production target in 2018-19, Fisheries Minister Chandra Nath Sinha said today.

Sinha, who was addressing a CII Fisheries Conclave here, said the state government has chalked out a five-year road map to instill awareness and proper education among the fishermen to go for scientific and modern ways of farming.

"In 2017-2018, we managed 17.4 lakh-tonne production of fish. But, we need to raise the production level by several notches in another five years. We need to encourage fishermen to shift to more modern and scientific way of pisciculture. We need to maximise use of ponds in rural areas," he said.

Sinha said 1.7 lakh tonnes of fish were exported in 2017-18, including the volume sold to other states in the country. "We have the potential to substantially increase the volume of exports, too, in another five years."