Aiming to usher in 'Blue Revolution', government today said it will tap vast unutilised inland water resources and address the shortage of quality fish seeds in the country to give a boost to the sector.
Addressing a gathering on the occasion of World Fisheries Day, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said the new scheme "Blue Revolution-Inland Fisheries", announced in the Budget, will soon be launched to further increase fish output and productivity.
India, the world's second biggest fish producer, can become a bigger player in the global arena. From being a mere traditional activity years ago, the fisheries sector has now transformed into a significant commercial enterprise with an impressive growth in recent times. However the country faces shortage of quality fish seeds, he said.
"India has a vast area of unutilised and untapped Inland water resources and is short of for quality fish seed and formulated fish feed... Government will focus on filling the critical gaps," the Minister said here.
The country currently produces 9.58 million tonnes of fish, out of which 64 per cent of production is from inland and 36 per cent is from marine sources, he added.
India, which is also second biggest in terms of aquaculture, has a fishermen population of 14.5 million and a coastal line of 8,118 kilometres.
