With the Telangana government making new strides in inland fishing activities, the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is set to study and forecast annual fish production in Telangana from next year. The study is aimed at calculating exact fish production in the State and revenue accrued through fish sale during a year. Officials from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries in the Union government wrote to the State Fisheries Department stating that the CIFRI will take up assessment of inland fish production and collect relevant data using a scientific methodology based on a sample survey. The decision was taken during a recent meeting of the Union government officials. The State government had allocated Rs 1,000 crore for integrated fisheries development project, including supply of fish seedlings free of cost. Fish production in the State was projected at over 2.8 lakh tonnes this year with net income of an estimated Rs 300 crore, against 1.95 lakh tonnes last year. While 27.9 crore fish fingerlings were distributed last year, around 51 crore fishlings were released till December 10. The officials foresee almost double the current year’s production during next fiscal. Further, about 1.5 crore Scampi shrimps were also released into six reservoirs to promote prawn production on a pilot basis. Sources told Telangana Today that previous governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh had ignored pisciculture in Telangana region and released less than 25 per cent of around 2-3 crore fishlings from their entire stock in local reservoirs and tanks. Major chunk of fish seedlings was released in reservoirs and tanks of coastal Andhra region in the undivided State. Further, the authorities also did not maintain proper records pertaining to fish production in the Telangana region. As a result, fishing activity took a toll in the region. In the absence of a foolproof method for conducting a fish census, the officials could not calculate the exact quantum of fish production after the State formation and were experimenting with various methods to resolve the issue. As a result, the fish production estimates started dwindling. While fish production was recorded at 2.4 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, it was registered at 2.6 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 which decreased to 2.3 lakh tonnes in 2015-16. Fish production estimates dwindled further to 1.95 lakh tonnes in 2016-17. In undivided Andhra Pradesh, fish production estimates in Telangana region were inflated to suppress the fact that more support was being given to coastal Andhra region. But now, we are taking up more realistic study and are able to give more realistic estimates of fish production due to which the numbers appear to be dwindling. However, the proposed study by CIFRI is a better scientific method and was proposed by the Central government enabling us to register exact fish production, said a senior official in the Fisheries Department.