The government is open to suggestions and scientists and entrepreneurs should come up with a roadmap to develop policies for fisheries sector, said Parshottam Rupala, Union minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
At the inauguration of the three-day 12th Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum here on Thursday, Mr. Rupala said the country now had a separate department with an allocation of ₹20,000 crore. At a time when the world was redesigning its boundaries, the country could build its dream of becoming the world leader that the Prime Minister envisaged for India during the Amrit Mahotsav, marking the country’s 75 years of independence, Mr. Rupala said.
India had the potential to realise the dream of becoming a world leader by 2047, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said in his inaugural address. The Prime Minister’s vision could be realised as we have the potential, he said.
He told scientists to consider ways to scale up new practices in agriculture and address challenges in that regard. Mr. Ravi called on the scientists and the participants visiting Tamil Nadu for the conference to tour the State. “It is a spiritual State and the idea of India emanates from this State,” he said, adding, “You have a lot to see and a lot to learn from this place.”
Anita R. Radhakrishnan, State Fisheries Minister, said around 600 researchers and entrepreneurs were participating in the event. He asked the participants to focus on improving deep sea fishing, which remained a challenge. Though the State had a long coastline, there had been a gradual decline in fish production. According to the State Fisheries Secretary, the State had over 12 lakh fishermen whose livelihood depended on the sea.
During the event a souvenir and a book of abstracts were launched. Five scientists were also honoured for their achievement with medals, citations and cash.
