The success of inland fisheries in Telangana is inspiring other fish producing States in the country. Aspiring to repeat Telangana’s success, Kerala, which is the third largest marine fish producing State in the country, has decided to replicate Telangana’s model of inland fish production. Telangana has nearly 25,000 reservoirs and tanks with a water spread of 5.73 lakh sq km. But, the fisheries sector in Telangana region was neglected in undivided Andhra Pradesh with the then governments focusing on Coastal Andhra region where fisheries flourished. However, after formation of Telangana State in 2014, attempts were made to improve fish production in the State. To make best use of these water bodies and turn them into revenue sources for the fishermen community, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao promoted the release of fish seedlings into the water bodies, including reservoirs and village tanks, to promote inland aquaculture. In the fiscal 2017-18, about 50 crore fish seedlings were released into various water bodies in the State. With good results, the State government released nearly 70 crore fish seedlings into water bodies in 2018-19. As a result, the inland fish production in Telangana reached about 2.94 lakh tonnes during 2018-19, registering a sharp rise from an estimated 1.93 lakh tonnes in 2016-17. The State was also able to double the fingerlings production to four crore during the corresponding period. Though Kerala is the third largest marine fish producing State, its inland fish production is nominal. With more than 1 lakh sqkm of inland water spread, which is one-fourth of Telangana’s fishing area, Kerala is yet to tap these resources optimally. Hence, the Kerala government sought Telangana’s technical and commercial expertise in inland fish production, cage fish yield and fingerling production, said a senior official in the Telangana Fisheries department. Sources said Kerala Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma already spoke to Telangana Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav on the issue. The latter promised to share Telangana’s expertise with Kerala at a meeting in Hyderabad recently. The move will come as a shot in the arm for Kerala Fisheries department, which is launching a Rs 69.9-crore inland fisheries project. Kerala is aiming at becoming the second largest fish producer in the country in the next three years by doubling its fish production.
2016, TELANGANA PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD.