Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma has said that the government will adopt steps to tap the full potential of inland fisheries in the State.
Speaking after inaugurating a caged aquaculture project of the department at Kuttyamvayal at the Banasura Sagar reservoir in the district on Tuesday, Ms. Mercykutty Amma said the State was gifted with vast inland waterbodies, but they were yet to be tapped fully. It was time to promote inland fisheries to ensure food security, she added.
Coordination among departments was needed as huge waterbodies such as reservoirs were under the possession of various departments, the Minister said. A similar project would be launched at the Karapuzha reservoir soon under the government’s innovative aquaculture project, she added.
The ₹3.2-crore project, under the Rebuild Kerala programme, envisages production of 2,70,000 kg of fish a year and improving the lives of tribespeople on the banks of the reservoir.
