Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh govt has cleared subsidies ranging from 40% to 60% for fisheries-related projects, positioning the sector as a key contributor to its Viksit UP-2047 development vision. The department of fisheries has opened applications for three schemes in the current financial year, with submissions accepted until July 31.Additional chief secretary Mukesh Meshram said applications have been invited for freshwater pearl culture, pond development and the setting up of hatcheries for multiple fish varieties.Under the pearl culture scheme, the state will provide a 40% subsidy for applicants in the general category and a 60% subsidy for women as well as beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.Meshram said freshwater pearl farming is already gaining traction in the state, with 11 companies currently engaged in pearl harvesting. Most of these units are located in districts including Moradabad, Sambhal, Agra and Barabanki. The govt expects the subsidy support to widen participation in the activity and attract new entrepreneurs.Similar subsidy support will be extended for hatcheries producing seeds of fish breeds such as Pangasius, Tilapia, Roopchand, Jayanti Rohu, Amrit Katla and Desi Mangur. Officials said expanding hatchery capacity is aimed at strengthening the supply chain for quality fish seed and boosting farm-level productivity.The govt is also promoting prawn cultivation as an alternative activity that can be undertaken on barren land or in areas with saline water, allowing productive use of otherwise underutilised land.An official said Uttar Pradesh is presently the third-largest fish-producing state in the country, after Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The state’s fish output is nearly 14 lakh tonnes, about double the level recorded in 2017, and the govt has set a long-term production target of 40 lakh tonnes by 2047.Officials said year-on-year growth in fish cultivation has reached 18%, up from 5-6% in 2017.A regional centre of the World Fish Centre, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, is also planned in Gorakhpur to support breed improvement and innovation in the fisheries sector.
