Telangana ranked sixth in fish production

Telangana has the country’s third largest water spread with 5.73 lakh sq km coverage in various water bodies including reservoirs but with 3.5 lakh tonnes of fish produced in 2018, it is the sixth largest in terms of fish production. Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department Secretary, Sandeep Kumar Sultania said that State government is working on bridging this gap by improving the fish production in the State. Sandeep Kumar said that the number of fish seedlings released in the State’s various water bodies to promote inland fishing has been increasing gradually.

It was 50 crore seedlings in 2017 and in 2018 it was increased to 80 crores.Apart from the efforts to increase the fish stock, he said that the Telangana government is also working on improving logistics and providing equipment like dragnets, mopeds with insulated boxes, vehicles for logistics to those involved in aquaculture.

Sultania added that the State is also promoting food processing industry in the State, which also includes fish processing industry and pointed outthat the State government has already brought out a requisite policy for food processing industry.He spoke on the sidelines of the announcement of AquaEx India, an expo on aquaculture industry to be held in Hyderabad for the second time from January 31 to February 2 at Hitex.

The expo is organised by the Society for Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture. While last year the expo had attracted around 140 participants, this year the number is expected to cross 200. Speaking at the event, Commissioner of Fisheries Department Dr Ch Suvarna said that the State government is also planing to reduce power tariffs for those involved in fisheries and fish processing industry like in other industrial sectors.The goverment is also wants to ensure easy access to fish feed and seedlings, he said.