The Blue Revolution initiated by the Central Government, along with other measures, has been successful in increasing fish production in the North Eastern states, and Assam led from the front, displaying fish production figures that reflect the state’s success in fisheries and aquaculture, although the state is still not self-sufficient in fish production as of now. The inland fish production in the North Eastern States recorded an average annual growth rate of 5.38% during the last nine years, i.e., from 2014–15 to 2022–23, with Assam having the lion’s share of this growth. The total fish production in the North Eastern States increased from 4.03 lakh metric tonnes (MT) in 2014–15 to the highest production of 6.04 lakh tonne during FY 22–23.
The total fish production in Assam has almost doubled during the same period, from 2.83 MT in FY 2014–15 to 4.43 MT in FY 2022–23. In FY 2015-16, the total fish production in Assam was 2.94 MT, while that of the entire NE was 4.25. Against a total figure of 4.44 MT for the NE states in FY 2016–17, Assam’s share in fish production was 3.07 MT. Moreover, in FY 2017–18, the NE states had a total fish production of 4.70 MT, while Assam produced 3.27 MT.
However, in FY 2018–19, the total fish production in the NE was slightly decreased to 4.67 MT, but Assam’s growth was maintained, with 3.31 MT of fish produced that year. Again in FY 2019–20, the NE states recorded a total fish production of 5.18, while Assam’s production also jumped to 3.73 MT. While the NE states had a fish production figure of 5.43 MT in FY 2020–21, Assam showed a figure of 3.93 MT. The steady increase in fish production was maintained in FY 2021–22, with the NE states having a total production figure of 5.69 MT and Assam’s share in this being 4.17 MT. In the last FY of 2022–23, the NE states produced 6.04 MT of fish, while Assam produced 4.43 MT of fish.
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying initiated the Blue Revolution, a centrally sponsored scheme from 2015-16 to 2019-20 for the development of fisheries and aquaculture in the country. A project worth Rs 391.95 crore was sanctioned for the North Eastern States. The scheme was successful in increasing the production of fish in the NE states, said an official from the state Fishery Department.
To consolidate the success and achievements of the Blue Revolution, in the year 2020–21, the Government of India launched another flagship scheme, namely the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), with an investment of Rs. 20,050 crore for a period of 5 years, with effect from Financial Year 2020–21 to 2024–25, for the holistic development of fisheries and aquaculture. PMMSY aims to enhance fish production through the establishment of new freshwater finfish hatcheries, the construction of rearing ponds, grow-out ponds with inputs, biofloc ponds, the Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS), ornamental fish rearing units, providing boats and nets for traditional fishermen, etc. A minimum of 10% of the annual allocation under the scheme has been earmarked for the North Eastern Region.
Under PMMSY, total projects with an outlay of Rs. 1391.62 crore have been approved for NER States from 2020–21 to 2023–24 (till November 2023). Besides, to promote easy access to credit for aquaculture farmers, fish farms, and fishing activities, the Government of India in 2018–19 extended the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facility to fishermen and fish farmers to help them meet their working capital needs. So far, a total of 1,70,674 KCCs with a loan amount of Rs. 1893.43 crore have been issued, including 16,870 KCCs in NER.