Agartala, May 19 (UNI) The Tripura government has set a target to become a fish surplus state in the country within five years. Efforts have been made to start exporting fish from Tripura, said the state’s Animal Resource Development Minister Sudhangshu Das on Monday.

Interacting with the media, Das said during his two-day visit to Tripura, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh reviewed the fishery and animal husbandry projects and announced that Centre sanctioned 11 Integrated Aqua-parks across the country, and four of them to be set up in Northeast.

Singh on Sunday laid the foundation stone for an integrated Aqua-park under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), worth Rs 42.4 crore in Kailashahar under Unokoti district, which is projected to cater to the fish demand of the state, Das said. The state government has decided to go for a massive upgrade of water-bodies, both private and public.

He said the department has been working diligently towards transforming Tripura into a fish surplus state, which will be capable of exporting fish. The fishery sector plays a vital role in boosting India’s economy, he said, stressing the need to bridge the gap between demand and supply through the use of modern technology, integrated farming, and innovation.

“We are striving for a production target of 2 lakh MT fish annually, significantly exceeding the state's requirement, and hopefully, soon, Tripura will also be developed into an Organic Fish Cluster like Sikkim. More than 95 per cent of the population of Tripura consumes fish. About 1,17,000 metric tonnes of fish are required every year in Tripura,” he pointed out.

Since the production is around 85,000 metric tonnes, there is a gap of 31,000 metric tonnes every year, which the state government accounts for by importing it from coastal states like neighbouring states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, he added.

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