Fisheries dept trains SHG members to boost production of coloured fishes

Kolkata: The state Fisheries department has started training members of various self-help groups (SHGs) on how the production of varied ranges of coloured fishes can be augmented.

State Fisheries minister Chandranath Sinha said that his department has taken up a comprehensive scheme to encourage the people in various SHG across the state.

The programme has already started at different districts including Howrah, Hooghly in South Bengal and Jalpaiguri in North Bengal.

"We are not only giving training but also providing a platform for the self-help group members to sell their produces. A large amount of coloured fishes are being exported abroad from the state. It will also help improve the socio-economic conditions of

the people involved in coloured fish production. People are also showing their interest as well," Sinha told the Assembly

during a question-answer session.

During his speech, the minister had also given an outline on how the Mamata Banerjee government has successfully been able to augment the overall fish production in the state by adopting various methods.

The minister also said that fishes produced in the state are already being exported outside. The focus is on increasing the amount of export of fishes from the state.

The amount of the fishes being exported abroad will go up considerably by 2022, the minister expressed his hope.

The minister also stated that when the Mamata Banerjee government came to power the overall fish production in the state remained at 14.72 lakh metric tonnes, but the figure has now gone up to 18.11 lakh metric tonnes.

It has become possible due to various schemes introduced by the state government and relentless effort put in by the Fisheries department officials.