MEGHALAYA STATE AQUACULTURE MISSION 2.0
Fisheries and Aquaculture constitute a source of livelihood to millions of people all over the world. Faced with the challenges to cater to the ever growing demand of food to a population which is expected to reach 9 billion by the twenty first century, sustainable development goals are the need of the hour. In Meghalaya, Fisheries plays a very important role not only as a source of protein for human consumption but also in creating livelihoods to the farmers through various income generating activities right from fish culture, marketing and value chain management through ornamental and recreational fisheries, and tourism. Realizing the importance of Fisheries toward sustainable development, “Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission’ was launched in March 2012, to uplift the economy through fish farming, with the slogan “from dependence to self-sufficiency’.
With the implementation of the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission under Mini Mission-I, the Area and productivity expansion the production of fish has increased from3,766 MT in 2007-08 to 11,961 MT in 2017-18 attributed to area expansion for fish culture covering an area of 1808.8ha and generating livelihoods to 18,088 nos. of fish farmers brought under fishery farming system. The figure is expected to rise to 25,998 numbers by the end of 2018 as the mission is in the last year of implementation. In convergence with MNREGA, 61 (sixty one) community ponds were developed through this mission.