Fisheries mapping: Govt provides technical assistance to other states to develop infrastructure

Bengal government has been providing technical assistance to various other states to develop 

their own infrastructure on fisheries mapping, thereby increasing the production of fishes.

Bengal’s ‘Fisheries Mapping Project’ had been declared as the model project by the Centre which asked various other states to adopt Bengal model.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had gone through the details of the project and asked 

the other states to replicate the project.

Bengal’s ‘Fisheries Mapping Project’ was started a few years ago with an aim to increase the production of fishes across the state. The project was later declared as a model project by the Centre.

After being recommended by the Centre, Chhattisgarh was the first state to start a similar project to improve the production of fishes. Other states like Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have also recently started the Bengal model. The state Fisheries department has shared its expertise with the other states and hence, other states are following the techniques adopted by Bengal to improve pisciculture. Senior project officials from Bengal had already visited various states and provided technical guidance by sharing thoughts and expertise so that the state can implement this project smoothly.

It may be mentioned that ‘Fisheries Mapping Project’ was started by the state Fisheries Department in 2008-09. A separate office was set up in Salt Lake. Among many others, the main purpose of the project was to increase the production of the fishes across the state. As the project had seen the light of success within a few years, the Centre had started funding the entire project which was originally started by the state government. 

The project not only helps to increase the production of fishes but it also helps various other state government departments in many ways. Under this project, the state Fisheries Department has developed a comprehensive digitised data bank through which one can have a detailed idea of the total number of water-bodies above 5 cottah, their nature, feasibility of pisciculture in these water-bodies, their connectivity and location. It also helps to know whether any particular water-body is worthy of being declared fit for pisciculture.

Fisheries mapping is done through the Global Positioning System (GPS) which helps to prepare a more comprehensive data. Various departments can get the benefit out of the project as information relating to the ponds, water-bodies, their nature, condition of roads are available on the computer and their condition. 

A senior official of the project said that Fisheries Mapping Project will also help in preventing the filling up of water-bodies. The project will help people in many ways. If a person applies for a bank loan for starting pisciculture, the government will be able to know whether there was any loan against that pond or if it is fit for pisciculture.