Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Sudarshan Bhagat called for utilising Geographical Information System (GIS) technology in the fisheries sector to minimise fishing expense.
Talking after felicitating the ‘first fisher couple’ of the country at a function organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here on Friday, Mr. Bhagat said the GIS technology would help identify potential fishing zones (PFZ), making fishing easier and less expensive.
It is a reality that climate change has had a drastic impact on fisheries. He urged the scientific community to study the issue and provide alternate means to mitigate the phenomenon.
CMFRI’s technology of cage fish farming would help the country increase marine fish production. “Seed production technology of more fish species, which are commercially important, should be developed by scientists to popularise cage farming,” Mr. Bhagat added.
The Minister also said the Union government would focus more on fisheries sector by introducing effective projects and schemes, the benefits of which would be felt by the fishermen community shortly.
A. Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI, and G. Maheswarudu, Head, Crustacean Division of CMFRI, also spoke.
