The Central government is drafting the first National Fisheries Policy with a budget of Rs 45,000 crore for the next five years. The policy will help in promoting marine fishery, aquaculture and mariculture.
The only existing policy is on marine fisheries from which production stands at 4.3 million tonne annually, but there is no policy on inland fisheries that produces the rest 23 million tonne. The newly carved out Ministry of Fisheries is working on an overarching policy that will cover all aspects of the fishery sector.
The draft policy will soon be placed before the Union cabinet for approval. A budget of Rs 45,000 crore will be required for the next five years for implementing the policy.
At present, two fishery schemes are being implemented. One is Fishery Infrastructure Development Fund, which is a five-year scheme.
The other one is Fishery Development Scheme funded partially by the World Bank. It is for eight years. The third scheme Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana which was announced in July 2019 Budget is yet to get the Union cabinet approval. It aims to boost fish and aquatic products through appropriate policy, marketing and infrastructure support.