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A BNE Exclusive with Mr. Joy Prakash Medhi
Joint Director, Directorate of Fisheries
Department of Fisheries was created in the year 1991 as an independent Department headed by the hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, Govt. of Assam, with an aim to achieve economic growth of the State and fish farmers in particular under the Government of Assam. The administrative setup of the Fisheries Department is headed by a civil servant in the rank of Commissioner & Secretary to the Govt. of Assam, followed by the Secretary, Joint Secretary, Under Secretary, Superintendent and other ministerial staff.
Directorate of Fisheries, which functions under the administrative control of the Department of Fisheries is headed by the Director of Fisheries, a civil servant, with support from technical and non-technical officers in the rank of Joint Director of Fisheries, Director of Instruction, Deputy Director of Fisheries, Executive Engineer, Deputy Director (Statistics), Registrar, Superintendent and supporting ministerial staff at State level.
Districts and Sub-Divisions are headed by the District Fishery Development Officers and Sub-Divisional Fisheries Development Officers who function at the District level with supporting staff in the rank of Fisheries Development Officers, Junior Engineers, Assistant Fishery Officers, Fisheries Demonstrators, and office staff.
Department of Fisheries is committed to the path of progress with the slogan of ‘’Grow More Fish’’ and the following mandates:
Initiatives of the Department of Fisheries in the last 5-6 years have contributed towards inclusive and positive Growth in the State fisheries sector as a whole, which is evident from the enhancement of production and productivity scenario during this period. With 2.83 lakh metric tons of fish production in the year, 2014-15 has now touched almost 4.00 lakh metric tons of table fish production and the fish seed in the form of fry production has touched record 10000 million numbers in 2020-21 from 4000-5000 million numbers during 2014-15. Assam has become the fish seed hub of the North East Region and a major source of fish and fish seed supply for States like Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, etc. The amount of investment in the fisheries sector has increased tremendously in the last few years. From central govt. schemes to state govt. schemes we have been benefited from because of the resources we inherit. For instance, the Govt. of India approved a project worth Rs. 110 crore for Assam under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana during 2020-21. State Govt. has launched an ambitious scheme for the construction of New Community Ponds in each revenue village of Assam with an investment of Rs. 480 crore to be funded under Rural Infrastructure Assistance to State Govt. (RIAS) with CMSGUY support. Apparently, the department has successfully achieved major target of completion of one of the most important projects launched by the State Govt namely ‘Ghare Ghare Pukhuri, Ghare Ghare Maach’. Assistance under schemes like RKVY, World Bank-funded project APART and State-funded projects are noteworthy, and have contributed immensely to achieving targeted production. With about 2.44 lakh hectares of inland water resources, the Beel fisheries resources are considered as one of the major fisheries resources of Assam. Various projects under CMSGUY, PMMSY, and APART have been implemented to derive maximum sustainable benefits from the beel fisheries resources. River ranching, Cage culture, Release of fingerlings in beels, and Pen culture are some of the programmes initiated by the Department of Fisheries in recent years.
2. What are the steps taken to implement the policies in increasing local fish farming in the state?
Department has funded a project “Gene Bank for Indigenous Fish – SCOPIF” for the conservation of indigenous fish through College of Fisheries, Assam Agriculture University, Raha with a total estimate of approx. Rs. 10 crore under SOPD with an aim to conserve and promote the local and indigenous fish of Assam. Another project namely “Freshwater Ornamental Fish Brood Bank” with the financial support of NFDB has been implemented at Gauhati Univesity to conserve and propagate indigenous ornamental fish of Assam. Besides these several other projects for the promotion and propagation of indigenous catfish like Magur, Singhi, Chitala and Pabda have been initiated in the state. Further, the Department advocates culture and propagation of an improved variety of major carps (local fish) like the ‘Rohu, Catla etc. and a local variety of minor carps like Gonius, Bata, Calbasu etc. Small indigenous fish like Mola has been promoted through the World Bank-funded APART project.
3. Can you tell us about the modern fish farming system like BIOFLOC FISH and how will it help our local youths who have started their business in fish farming?
Technology infusion is one of the major interventions in the farming sector, which has been able to build a great strength in the aquaculture sector of Assam. With the support of the PMMSY scheme, we have been helping farmers to take up BIOFLOC and RAS systems of farming in the State. Basically, the technology helps in intensifying capacity from unit area to enhance production. This happens by providing more fish, more food and oxygen, and in return to that the excreta that gets released is converted back as food for the fish where small microorganisms like nitrifying bacteria feed on this excreta and convert ammonia into non-toxic nitrogen which eventually purifies the water and itself serve as food for cultured fish. Likewise, Recirculatory Aquaculture System does the same, but here purified water gets back to the cultural system with the removal of sludge through the mechanical filtration system. Cage culture is another technique where fish culture takes place in enclosures placed in reservoirs or beels, where there is water availability throughout the season and has sufficient water depth. All methods are promising that can help in livelihood generation and could be the best start-up venture.
4. How much ahead is the Dept. in terms of fish farming as compared to other northeastern states?
Being the hub for many neighboring states in terms of production and everything related to it, we are actually way ahead in comparison with other NE states. The government of India recognized this and gave us the “Best State in India award” amongst the NE and Hilly states by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry, and Dairy in 2019-20. Assam got four (4) awards including “Best Quasi-Government Organisation”, “Best Fish Farmer” and “Best District“ during the year. In consecutive years i.e. 2021, Assam again received 3 awards, including ‘The Best Cooperative Organisation’, “Best Fishery” and “Best Fishery District”. This reflects the growth and capacity of the Department built up during the last couple of years.
5. How can fish farming become a source of income for the people affected by the recent pandemic without having to wait for jobs? Also when it comes to employment generation, what factors does the Department of Fisheries keep in mind?
In the initial phase of the pandemic, the Fisheries department and as a whole Assam stopped receiving fish from other states. The entire market got dependent upon domestic production and it somehow made people realize the potentiality that Assam possesses in terms of sizeable production. Though the impact was visible, the fishery department didn’t suffer much due to its own production. Many individuals and enterprises acknowledged the benefits attached to the fishery sector and in time they started venturing into this field. Aqua tourism became a new concept in this regard and a blooming one in terms of sustainable livelihood for many. It also supported the women to earn and get various opportunities. Apparently, the pandemic situation motivated many youths and gave them the vision to build out their lives in the primary sector by showing them the huge potential it possesses.
6. Is there any Entrepreneurship skill development programme training related to fish farming conducted by your department.
National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) at Hyderabad is one of the designated nodal agencies for conducting necessary training and capacity building in the fisheries sector. Likewise, the Agriculture Skill Council of India has also been giving training in skill-building. In addition to that, some Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes like CIFA at Bhubaneshwar, CIFRI at Kolkata, provide both offline and online training. Pearl farming is one of the new entrants in the field of aquaculture, which is a lucrative venture and gradually developing in Assam. This sort of farming is opening new avenues and opportunities for unemployed and rural youth. Many colleges and institutions, including the Department of Fisheries also conduct many workshops and training programs for capacity building. Considering that they can reach out to us anytime for any sort of queries.
