With the 15-day ban on the shipment of fish from outside the state after the detection of formalin, the Fishery Department in the State is making efforts to push through sale of local fish in all districts. Director of Fisheries A. L. Mawlong told Highland Post that instructions were given to all district officers to make necessary arrangements for the sale of local fishes in their respective districts. She said for the excess that remains from the respective district headquarters like Ri-Bhoi, South West Khasi Hills, Jaiñtia Hills, etc the fish farmers will coordinate with the Superintendent of Fisheries (SF) who will in turn coordinate with the nodal officers of Khasi region and Garo Hills who is in charge of such arrangements so that the supply reaches Shillong and Tura.
“Our SFs are on the task and on the field doing their best to make arrangements with fish farmers in this situation,” she added. Mawlong said that while people prefer fish from outside the state which is cheaper, local fish are safe for consumption. The only drawback is that the state has very less production of some variety of fish. Meghalaya is predominantly a fish consuming State. But since the internal demand for fish far outweighs the supply, the State imports fish from Andhra Pradesh. Currently, the state consumes 32, 000 MT fish annually while it could produce about 19, 000 MT, she informed. It may be mentioned that the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission with the motto ‘from dependence to self-sufficiency’ was launched in March 2012 and part two of the mission for implementation between 2018 and 2023.
Yet the State has not achieved the desired target. Mawlong said more than 21,000 fish ponds in the entire state get assistance from the department, but not all are willing to sell their fish as most of the farmers use it for their consumption and other needs. She however stated that the aquaculture mission is doing well since production increased from 4000 MT in 2011 to 19,000 MT at present. “The aqua mission is successful and various schemes are there to ease our beneficiaries. The fact is our fish farmers are not willing to work harder or understand the advantage of fish production like by giving them proper feeds, etc which is much easier compared to farming cattle, etc,” she lamented. She however said that the department is doing all it can to make the fish farmers understand the importance of being self-sufficient and that fish’s production is much easier.