New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) The Centre’s Department of Fisheries is organising a review meeting in Kolkata on September 21 to chart a roadmap for the state’s huge untapped fisheries potential, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.
Union Minister for Fisheries Rajiv Ranjan Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari will co-chair the meeting. The deliberations are expected to identify priority interventions and strengthen Centre-State collaboration to accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth in West Bengal’s fisheries sector.
The meeting will provide a comprehensive platform to review the progress of various schemes and programmes in West Bengal and deliberate on key focus areas for future development.
Presentations by the Department of Fisheries, Government of India, and the Government of West Bengal, along with interactions with leading fisheries research, regulatory, and financial institutions, will facilitate discussions on enhancing production, expanding aquaculture, adopting technology, developing infrastructure, strengthening institutional support, and promoting investment. This will be followed by the handing over of administrative approval for integrated reservoir development in West Bengal.
West Bengal, the second largest fish-producing state in the country, contributed 25.43 lakh tonnes to India’s total fish production in 2025-26. An investment of Rs 617 crore under various schemes supported the production increase by strengthening production technologies, post-harvest infrastructure, processing, and capacity building. These initiatives provided livelihood opportunities to more than 30 lakh fisherfolk and developed a robust fisheries ecosystem supported by value chain and market access.
The Government of India has also notified 34 fisheries production and processing clusters, including a dry fish cluster in Purba Medinipur, West Bengal.
The Department of Fisheries is placing special emphasis on strengthening fisheries farmer producer organisations (FFPOs) and fisheries cooperatives, while also focusing on digitisation of the fisheries sector in the state through various initiatives.
The review meeting is expected to provide direction to accelerate growth in West Bengal’s fisheries and aquaculture sector through stronger convergence between the Central and State Governments and key stakeholder institutions.
The deliberations are expected to help identify priority areas for intervention, strengthen implementation of flagship fisheries schemes and programmes, promote technology-led and sustainable development, and increase investments across the fisheries value chain.
The meeting is also expected to help improve fishers’ livelihoods, increase fish production and productivity, strengthen market linkages, boost ornamental fisheries, improve post-harvest infrastructure, and advance the vision of a resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive fisheries sector in the state, the statement added.
–IANS
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