At least 325 crore fish seeds will be accumulated in the state by September 2017, making the state self-dependent in fish seed storage, chief secretary Rajbala Verma said on Saturday. In a meeting with the fisheries directorate, Verma directed officials to complete the construction work of 65 hatcheries by January 10. Verma said, “120 new hatcheries will be constructed in the next financial year. For this, agencies managing the existing hatcheries need to be trained so that they can contribute to the construction of more hatcheries.” A total of 50 fish entrepreneurs, two from each district, will be identified based on their interest in fish breeding. The entrepreneurs will also be provided with deep fridge vans, on subsidized rates, along with fish credit card which will help them grow their business. Verma also ordered officials to train sakhi mandals on how to make fishnets so that it can be manufactured in the micro-industry. This way, the state can produce its own nets instead of depending on other states. During the meet, fisheries directorate officials also informed the chief secretary that 775 projects of fiver fish farming (RFF) have been sanctioned this year, the work for which has already begun. Verma directed them to identify 1,000 more RFF projects in the next financial year to increase production. Verma was also informed that fish farming is successfully being carried in 76% dobhas constructed across the state.
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