Under the seafood revolution, the Uttar Pradesh government has introduced comprehensive coverage of seafood through a massive policy covering various aspects of fisheries, among the highest involved sectors in rural development and jobs.Hence, seafood revolution, the government of Uttar Pradesh has given a new direction towards fisheries sector by taking it on a path of massive policy coverage and bringing seafood sector in the major business area of rural development and jobs.
This programme aims to harness the extent of Gram Sabha ponds, reservoirs and rivers to their optimum utilization with the implementation of a structured scheme of fish leasing, which ensures fish production in an organized manner throughout the state. The government believes the decision will offer a “stable income” for farmers and the traditional fishing industry.
The policy adds water bodies are divided by size to balance participation, said senior officials. According to the pond size, traditional fishermen put up, traditional fishery ponds; medium-sized ones are kept for private investors to promote modernization and investment. The lease of larger water bodies to cooperative societies uses resources effectively to conduct operations at a large scale and provides better governance.
Like the previous government, the state government has claimed the policy has already yielded encouraging results. Over 80,000 acres of Gram Sabha ponds have been leased for fisheries and more than 2400 kilometres of river and 342 reservoirs have been put under fish production system.
The expansion has boosted fish production and provided job opportunities for thousands of rural households, officials said. The government is confident that the expansion of access to modern techniques, cooperative models and fisheries-related schemes has enhanced the income generation and economic stability in the rural areas.
The fisheries is an ever increasing contributor to the rural economy and Uttar Pradesh is looking forward to further boost production and promote the sector to achieve sustainable development and livelihood generation throughout the State.