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KRISHI SCIENCE – eMagazine for Agricultural Sciences
Volume:04 Issue:06 – June 2023
Popular article ISSN:2583-4150
A STUDY OF THE FISHERIES SECTOR IN MEGHALAYA WITH
SPECIAL REFERENCE TO AQUA – MISSION I
Karuna Sri K*, Anju Choudhury, Sai Priyanka P
*College of Post Graduate Studies in Agricultural Sciences, Umiam – 793122, Meghalaya, India
*Corresponding author: Karunasrienoch@gmail.com
Received: June 06, 2023; Accepted: June 13, 2023
Introduction
The fisheries sector in India is considered a sunrise sector that has demonstrated faster
growth compared to the crop and livestock sectors (Kumar et.al, 2010). This sector plays a
significant role in supporting the livelihoods of a large portion of the economically
underprivileged population in the country.
The fisheries sector holds a significant position in the Indian economy. In 2019,
global fish production reached a volume of 177.80 million metric tonnes, with China being
the largest fish-producing country. India contributes 7.7 percent to the world's fish production
and ranks fourth in fish exports. The fisheries sector's contribution to India's GDP is
commendable, as it is a rapidly growing sector outpacing crops and livestock. In India,
marine fish production reached 3.72 million metric tonnes, while inland fish production stood
at 10.43 million metric tonnes. The fisheries sector's contribution to the Indian economy
amounted to 2,12,195 crores. It accounted for 1.24 percent of India's GDP & 7.28 percent
when compared to the agricultural sector during 2018-19. With advancements in technology
and emerging market forces, the fisheries sector is expected to gain further importance in
India. It is undergoing rapid transformations in production strategies and research to
significantly increase fish production. Particularly since 1980, it has experienced commercial
growth in India.
The North-East region of India holds a unique and prominent position in the fisheries
sector, where fish is highly valued, and fish farming models are continuously evolving.
Among the states in the region, Assam recorded the highest fish production, followed by
Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Sikkim (Chutia
https://krishiscience.co.in/
Sri et al., 2023 KS-2942
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KRISHI SCIENCE – eMagazine for Agricultural Sciences
Volume:04 Issue:06 – June 2023
et al., 2018). Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram have abundant available area for fish
production.
Meghalaya is predominantly a state with a high fish consumption rate, and the local
supply falls significantly short of meeting the demand. As a result, fish is imported from
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions of India to fulfill the internal demand. Fishing in
rivers, lakes, and local water bodies has contributed to self-sufficiency in rural areas. The fish
production area in Meghalaya covered 2000 hectares, with a total production of 11.96 lakh
tonnes in 2017-18. The Scenario of Fish production and area are depicted below.
Recognizing the key role of the fisheries sector in the state's economy and its potential
to empower the population, the Government of Meghalaya has been actively supporting the
development of fish ponds. To achieve self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on imports,
Meghalaya introduced the Meghalaya Aqua Mission from 2012 to 2018. The main objective
of this mission was to promote self-sufficiency in fish production.
Meghalaya State Aqua-Mission
It is a mission which is co-terminus with twelfth five year plan. The main aim of this
Meghalaya is make Dependency to self–sufficient
The Mission is divided into six mini missions
Mini-mission I – Area And Productivity Expansion
The main goal of this Mini mission was to expand the water area available for
aquaculture by creating individual ponds, community ponds, and reclaiming wetlands.
Through this initiative, an additional 2500 hectares of land were allocated for individual and
community ponds, benefiting around 25,000 fish farmers and providing livelihood
opportunities
Mini-mission II – Critical Infrastructure Development
Aimed to break the cycle of low input and low productivity by establishing essential
infrastructure for fish seed and fish feed production in the state. As part of this initiative, 12
eco hatcheries, 14 FRP hatcheries, and 3 fish feed mills were established in the private sector
to support the mission's goals.
Mini –mission III – Conservation of Indigenous Fisheries Resources
It aims to establish the sanctuaries and conservation of indigenous and endemic sps
was on focus of mini mission III
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KRISHI SCIENCE – eMagazine for Agricultural Sciences
Volume:04 Issue:06 – June 2023
Mini – Mission IV- Capacity Building And Human Resource Development
This Mission focuses on execution of the tasks required to strengthen the capacities in
skills and competencies of the fish farmers and the departmental functionaries
Mini – Mission V: Mass Media Documentation Out Reach
This Mission focus on creates awareness through the mass media (campaigns, work-
shops, print, and electronics)
Mini –mission VI: Emerging Opportunities in the Fisheries Sector
This was a visionary step of the department to tap new opportunities in the sector
these opportunities ranged from technology induction, introduction of new potential species
and promotion of innovative activities like aqua-parks etc.
The results of State aqua mission are
Fig.1: Production of Fish in mt before introduction of Aqua-Mission1
Fig. 2: Production of Fish in mt before introduction of Aqua-Mission1
4.6 44.1 3.6 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.7
6.2
55.4 5.1 5.6 5.5 5
43.9 4.3 4.5 4.8
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Production of Fish in mt before introduction of Aqua-Mission1
5.417 5.713 6.04
11.343 12.33 11.961
0
5
10
15
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Production of Fish in mt afterintroduction of Aqua-Mission1
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KRISHI SCIENCE – eMagazine for Agricultural Sciences
Volume:04 Issue:06 – June 2023
Fig.3: Fingerlings Before Aqua-Mission1 (mt)
Fig.4: fry and fingerlings in million under AQUA-MISSION 1 (mt)
Meghalaya faced decreasing production in 2002-03, 2004-05 ,2006-07. it is because
the reason might be unavailability of ponds, fingerlings, and shifting farmers towards
cultivation of agriculture crops. The reason behind the sudden increase in 2015-16 is because
of the introduction of aqua-mission in 2012-13. Before Introduction of Aqua-Mission I the
production of fish was 4.8 mt and after introduction of this mission the production has been
significantly increased to 11.96 mt. There was a significant fall in the fish fingerlings 2012
year and it has raised to 9.6 MT after introduction of the Aqua-Mission in the year 2017-18.
Conclusion
• Prior to the introduction of the aqua-mission, fish production in Meghalaya
experienced fluctuations.
0.36
1.3
0.9 0.8 0.5 0.7 0.7
1.1
0.7
1.1 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 10.9 1.13 1.15
2.9
0.9
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
FINGERLINGS BEFORE AQUA-MISSION1 (mt)
2.016
3.14
5.82
11.07
7.6
9.6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Fry and fingerlings in million under AQUA-MISSION 1 (mt)
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KRISHI SCIENCE – eMagazine for Agricultural Sciences
Volume:04 Issue:06 – June 2023
• However, after the introduction of the aqua-mission, there has been a noticeable
increase in fish production. This can be attributed to the expansion of production areas,
infrastructural developments (such as modern hatcheries and conservation efforts for
indigenous fish), and capacity building of farmers through training programs.
• Despite the positive impact of the aqua-mission, there were some drawbacks that
needed to be addressed for further improvements. To rectify these drawbacks, the
Government of Meghalaya introduced aqua-mission II in 2018.
• The implementation of the aqua-mission in collaboration with the 12th Five Year Plan
may be a contributing factor to this increasing trend.
References
Chutia, Yashwanth BS, Baruah AK and Kashyap A. (2018). Trends in Fish Production of
Assam: An analysis. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied
Sciences 7(11): 3417-3422.
Kumar GB, Datta KK and Joshi PK. (2010). Growth of fisheries and Aquaculture sector in
India: Needed policy direction for future. International Journal of World
Aquaculture 66 (1): 51
Meghalaya State Aquatic Mission. http://msam.nic.in
