India observes National Fish Farmers Day 2025

BHUBANESWAR: Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAH&D), Government of India, celebrated National Fish Farmers Day 2025 in a grand manner at the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in Bhubaneswar.

The occasion recognised the valuable contributions of fishers, fish farmers, and fisher folk towards India’s fast-growing fisheries sector.

Union minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh spearheaded the celebrations and inaugurated 17 new fisheries clusters under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), increasing the total number of such clusters in the country to 34. The action is intended to increase fish production and organise the development of fisheries across the country.

In the course of the event, the minister also laid the foundation stone and inaugurated 70 fisheries-related projects worth Rs 105 crore in 11 states. He released some major initiatives, such as the ICAR Training Calendar and the guidelines on seed certification and hatchery operation, to provide assurance of quality, standardisation, and increased training capacity in the sector.

Appreciating grassroots efforts, Singh honoured a variety of fisheries stakeholders such as traditional fishers, cooperatives, Fish Farmer Producer Organisations (FFPOs), KCC cardholders, and fisheries start-ups. He appreciated their hard work and reiterated that India, being the second-largest fish producer in the world currently, is indebted to inland fisheries for almost 75 per cent of its production.

He pointed out that the fisheries industry sustains the livelihood of over 3 crore people and emphasised the government’s record investment of Rs 38,572 crore in schemes related to fisheries in the time under the prime ministership of Narendra Modi. Singh emphasised the necessity of cluster development, urging fish farmers to avail themselves of the financial help they can get under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme and urging a focus on robust outcome monitoring to realise the aims of Vision 2047.

Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying SP Singh Baghel addressed the sector’s importance in doubling the income of farmers under the Blue Revolution. He praised ICAR institutions’ innovative technologies and encouraged fishers to make use of government support systems like insurance schemes, quality seed availability, and the latest technologies to raise income and enhance livelihoods.

George Kurian, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Minority Affairs, congratulated the stakeholders on having recorded a record fish production of 195 lakh tonnes—a 105 per cent growth over the last decade.

He reiterated the government’s focus on constructing a prosperous and sustainable future for the fish farming industry.