1.81L tonne fish produced annually in Punjab

The state annually produces 1,81,188 tonne fish in natural waters, private and panchayati ponds, with 43,973 acres being dedicated to fish farming across the state.

Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Gurmeet Singh Khudian said around 14 crore quality fish seeds were being annually produced at 16 government fish seed farms and distributed to farmers at subsidised rates.

Khudian met over 300 farmers and officers during a state-level meeting organised by the Fisheries Department in Mohali to educate fish farmers about new technologies, best practices and innovative methods of fish farming.

Thousands of acres in Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot and Fazilka districts were being used for shrimp farming. This area is considered unsuitable for agriculture due to waterlogging and salinity. Khudian said shrimp farming was being practised in these districts, providing farmers with a net profit of Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per acre.

The department also honoured two progressive fish farmers, Amiteshwar Singh Gill from Fatehgarh Sahib and Parminderjit Singh from Kapurthala.

Director (Fisheries) Jasvir Singh said the department had disbursed over Rs 30-crore subsidy to 618 families in four years under a Centrally sponsored scheme and felicitated all district heads. The department is currently providing subsidy for projects related to fisheries such as vehicles for transporting fish products, RAS and bio-floc units, fish kiosks, mini fish feed mills, etc.

State head of Common Service Centre Bhupinder Singh briefed fish farmers on the database being prepared by the government and made the farmers aware about the benefits of registering on the National Fisheries Digital Platform.