Dehradun. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while reviewing the fisheries department at the secretariat, directed the officials to promote fisheries in the state and make arrangements for their proper marketing. The state has immense potential in the field of fisheries to enhance the livelihood of the people. He said that it should be ensured that fish farmers get the maximum benefits from Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. In order to promote fisheries more rapidly in the state, 05 targets should be set by the department, focusing on them, further work should be done with time boundness. Rapid efforts should also be made in this direction to ensure that the production of fish is according to the consumption in the state.

The Chief Minister said that every department should ensure that work is done on the basis of science and technology. Special attention should be paid to adopting the latest technology in work. More priority should be given to those schemes in which the share of the center and state is in the ratio of 90 and 10. He said that necessary action should be completed soon for the construction of the state-level Integrated Aquapark in Udhamsinghnagar. More and more fish farmers should be connected with the Chief Minister’s Fisheries Property Scheme. He said that fish farming can be promoted by the construction of ponds, while it will also prove helpful in the direction of water conservation. He said that ponds should be constructed by forming clusters and fisheries should be promoted through them. In the states where good work is being done in the field of fisheries, some work should be done in the form of best practices.

Fisheries Minister Saurabh Bahuguna said that ponds have been constructed on the basis of clusters in Dungri village of Pithoragarh, which model is becoming very successful. He said that the department is also working on angling tourism. He said that more attention needs to be paid to the development of market linkage and the cold chain for fish farmers. Trout farming has been promoted rapidly in the state. More than 40 fisheries cooperative societies are working in the state for trout farming.

Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bahuguna said that he went on a study tour to Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore to see what could be better in the field of animal husbandry, fisheries and dairy in the state. During the visit, various topics were discussed with New South Wales, State Agriculture Minister, Australia. The technology being adopted by the sheep farmers in Australia and adopting the modern sheep rearing method in Uttarakhand and their cooperation was requested for training and skill development of the cattle rearers of the state. A meeting was held with Indian High Commissioner in Wellington New Zealand Su Neeta Bhushan and Indian High Commissioner in Singapore P. Kumaran. A discussion was held with him on finding employment and business opportunities for the youth of the state.

Secretary Fisheries B.V.R.C. Purushottam said that 02 thousand people are directly associated with fisheries in the state. Work is being planned on 40 anglers in the state. He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, projects worth Rs 71.03 crore have been approved in the financial year 2021-22 and 48.79 crores in the financial year 2022-23.