Govt to set up high-level panel for roadmap to develop fisheries sector

The government on Sunday decided to constitute a high-level committee comprising senior officials to chalk out a roadmap for further development of the fisheries sector.

A decision in this regard was taken in a meeting between Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minister of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh here at Krishi Bhavan.

Highlighting the research undertaken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the field of fisheries, Chouhan stressed on the need to develop "model farms" to boost the income of small farmers, an official statement said.

"In this regard, it has been decided to constitute a high-level committee in the field of fisheries composed of senior officials of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and ICAR," the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The committee will hold regular meetings and prepare a roadmap, it added.

Chouhan said the state governments and other stakeholders need to be mobilised to achieve the desired outcome.

Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Lekhi, ICAR Director General Himanshu Pathak, and other officials were present in the meeting.