State produces fewer amounts of fish than required
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Puyam Rameshwar
Imphal, April 27 2012:
With the increase in the population of the state along with the vanishing of the lakes in the state, the production of fish which had earlier managed to meet the demands of the state is no longer able to meet the current demand of fish and the state is importing 7800 metric tonnes of fishes annually.
According to reports from the Fishery Department, around 90% of the people of the state eat fish.
Accordingly, the requirement of fish on a monthly basis is 30000 metric tones.
Burt the state produces only 22000 metric tones of fish monthly.
As such 7800 metric tones of fishes are imported annually.
The report further informed that the varieties of fishes produced in the state are mainly reared in the rivers, lakes, ponds and some fish farms.
To overcome the deficient production of fish in the state, the Fishery Department has taken up various programmes.
As part of the programmes, rearing of fingerlings and establishment of Fish Feed Farm has been taken up under the Inland Fishery Development programme.
In the recently held Fish Fair cum Fish Crop competition held every year on the eve of Ningol Chakkouba, around 64,924 metric tones of fish were displayed.
During the recent years a huge quantity of fishes have been imported in the state from other states of the country since the state supply cannot meet the demands of the people.
The main reason of the state being unable to meet the demands of the people is due to the vanishing of the various lakes which had existed in the state earlier and the lack of new technology in fish farming.
This has also led to the extinction of indigenous fishes which were once found abundantly in the state.
As such there is the need to preserve the indigenous fishes of the state.
Moreover the fishes which are procured in the state from other states of India are also not good for health since it takes days for the fishes to reach Manipur.