Goa exported 63,333 tonnes of fish from Mormugao Port Authority for the year 2022-23, fisheries minister Nilkanth Halarnkar told the House on Friday.
The figures are as per the data provided by Marine Products Export Development Authority, ministry of commerce and industry, said Halarnkar in his written reply to a question by Velim MLA Cruz Silva.
He added that the fisheries department doesn’t maintain the records of fish brought from other states.
Annual catch of fish in the state in 2022-23 was 1.40 lakh tonnes, out of which marine catch was 1.33 lakh tonnes and inland catch was 6,308 tonnes, as per the figures provided in the reply.
However, “no scientific study” has been carried out by the department to determine fish breeding zones, the fisheries minister said. “Further, Long established sites of shell fish breeding zones in consultation with the local fishermen, 125 in total, were identified.”
To a question by Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas over the measures taken by the fisheries department to “provide fish to Goans at cheaper and affordable rates”, Halarnkar said that his department was implementing various beneficiaries-oriented state and central schemes to help fishers reduce their overall operational costs. “However, the fish rates depend on the demand and supply chain in the market. The department cannot interfere in the fixing of market rates for fish as it’s pure market economics,” he said.
To a question by Viegas on the steps taken by the government “to curb and eliminate the fish mafia operating in the market and on the jetties and who are creating artificial scarcity of fish in the market and monopolising the rates, Halarnkar said that his department was “not aware of any fish mafias operating in the market or on the jetties.”