Gandhinagar, July 9 With National Fish Farmer's Day celebrated annually by coastal states on July 10, Gujarat, the state with the largest coastline in the country, will organise various programmes on the day in Veraval and in Porbandar, Jafrabad, Mangrol, and Okha on July 11 to provide information to fish farmers about government initiatives and modern technology in the fisheries sector.
As per recently released data, Gujarat leads India in marine fish production and ranks fifth in total fish production in the country.
Over the past four years, Gujarat has maintained an average fish production of about 8.5 lakh metric tonnes per year. For 2022-23, provisional marine fish production is estimated to be 6,97,151 metric tonnes, while inland fish production is projected to be 2,07,078 metric tonnes.
Hence, Gujarat's total fish production for the year is expected to be around 9,04,229 metric tonnes.
Gujarat boasts the country's longest coastline of 1,600 km, directly benefiting fish farmers and the fisheries industry. In 2018, fish farmers earned Rs 6.56 lakh per family/year, which has now risen to Rs 10.89 lakh per fish farmer family/year. Their income has consistently grown each year, with figures of Rs 6.80 lakh in 2019, Rs 7.39 lakh in 2020, Rs 8.51 lakh in 2021, and Rs 10.89 lakh per family/household in 2022.
The Centre, under the 'Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana,' has allocated a total of Rs 286.53 crore for various component projects in Gujarat during 2022-23, aiming to enhance fisheries activities in the state.
Presently, India's fish production stands at 16,248.27 thousand metric tonnes, with exports amounting to 13,69,264 metric tonnes. Gujarat contributes 16.9 per cent to the total fish quantity exports, equivalent to 2,32,619 metric tonnes.
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