While presiding over the meeting of the Fisheries department here today, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the department to incorporate modern technology to enhance the shelf life of fish produce. He said that the state government would establish new hatcheries and cold stores along the rivers and water reservoirs to benefit the farmers engaged in this occupation.
He directed the department to identify suitable land parcels to set up new cold stores across the state. Sh. Sukhu said that the present state government was emphasising to strengthen the rural economy and fisheries sector had a significant role to play in this regard.
He directed the department to extend handholding support and modern technology to the farmers to increase their income. The state government was supporting farmers by offering subsidies for the purchase of various fisheries related equipment.
He said that the department should organize awareness programmes for the farmers on modern practices, improved seed varieties and emerging technologies in the fisheries sector, so that they could benefit from the advancements in this field. The Chief Minister stressed the need to enhance fish seed stocking in the dams and water reservoirs across the state from the next season to increase farmer's income.
He instructed the department to gear up for this exercise and assess seed requirements for the next year. Sh. Sukhu said that fish production was increasing in the state and 19,019 metric tonne fish production was recorded in the financial year 2024-25, whereas this year till October month 7773 metric tonne fish production had been achieved.
Himachal Pradesh was famous for trout fish production and the state government would establish a corpus fund for the trout fish rearers to provide compensation for losses incurred due to natural calamities. Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board Bhawani Singh Pathania, MLAs Sanjay Awasthy, Neeraj Nayyar, Malender Rajan and Vivek Sharma, Director Fisheries Vivek Chandel and other senior officers also attended the meeting.