Director of Fisheries Department, David K Shimray has claimed that if the initiatives/projects take up by the Department are successfully implemented in the State, fish production will increase to such an extent that the people will never face shortage of fish and the State can even begin exporting these fishes outside the State. He made the statement yesterday, during the ongoing press meet organised by Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR). He said that an action document for 3 years (2017-18 to 2019-20) has been conceived and vision documents for 7 years (2017-18 to 2023-24) and 15 years (till 2032) have been created as well. If the first three year action plan is properly implemented, the fish production of the State will greatly increase and the State can even begin to export the fishes to other States. The Department is planning to produce around 45,000 tonnes of fishes annually during the three year plan. There are also plans to culture around 300 million fish eggs and to rear/distribute around 65 lakhs fish fries during the said plan, he added. He further pointed out that creation of a fishery estate in various waterbodies (with every fish farm/pond measuring one hectare each), creation of new fish farms with an area of 10,000 hectares, developing paddy cum pisciculture system in the hill districts, conservation of indigenous fishes, establishment of pen and cage culture in open waters, providing advances and upto date tools and methods to the fish farmers and establishment of Fish Diseases Detection and Controlling Lab, are also included in the plan. David also explained that the 7 years and 15 years plans also include similar objectives with the only difference being that the scope and production targets are bigger compared to the three year plan. The Director explained that out of the total 42,000 Mega Tonne (MT) of fishes consumed by the people of the State annually, 32,673 MT is produced in the State and the remaining 10,000 MT are imported from other States like Andhra Pradesh, Assam and West Bengal. He also pointed out that despite the presence of around 56,461 hectares of potential and scientifically farmable water bodies (including rivers, ponds, lakes etc), only 22,000 hectares have been utilised till date. The greatest challenge faced by the fish farmers in Manipur is the constant occurrence of flood, sometimes even two-three times a year. During floods, the fish from the farms are usually carried away by the flood, thus leading to great loss for the farmers.