During the National Fish Farmers Day 2023 meeting, Fisheries Summer Meet, and Start-up Conclave near Chennai, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, commended start-ups and the scientific community for their innovative technologies benefiting fishermen.
He praised their efforts in increasing fish production and productivity through the application of modern and scientific fishing and aquaculture methods.
Rupala highlighted the recent release of the "Report Fish Disease" app, which enables farmers to promptly report disease cases in their finfish, shrimps, and molluscs farms to field-level officers and fish health experts, allowing them to receive scientific advice swiftly.
He emphasized that aquaculture is among the fastest-growing sectors in food production, offering livelihood and employment opportunities to approximately thirty million fishermen and fish farmers in the country. He mentioned the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a scheme with a record investment of ₹20,050 crores, aimed at revolutionizing the fisheries and aquaculture industry in India, often referred to as the "Blue Revolution."
L Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, stated that the fisheries sector had received only around ₹4,000 crore in investments between 1950 and 2014.
However, in the past nine years, an impressive ₹38,000 crore has been invested in the sector through initiatives like the Blue Revolution plan, Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), and PMMSY.
Also, he mentioned the ongoing modernization projects at five fishing harbours, namely Chennai, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Petuaghat, with the aim of transforming them into thriving economic hubs.
During the event, Rupala also presented awards to twelve start-ups that excelled in the "Fisheries Start-up Grand Challenge," recognizing their exceptional contributions to the fisheries ecosystem.
