Kochi, June 06: Former President A P J Abdul Kalam today said it was important to have a separate fisheries ministry to boost the sector.
“The fisheries sector has been witnessing steady growth, with annual fish production rising to seven million tons. A separate fisheries ministry can be created to give impetus to fisheries development,” he said at a function at Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) here in connection with international year of Biodiversity celebrations.
Kalam said the fisheries sector has high potential for rural development, domestic nutritional security, employment generation, gender mainstreaming as well as export earnings.
He also urged CIFT to spearhead strategies to conserve biodiversity of aquatic resources.
Kalam stressed on the need to address issues of property rights in inland and coastal fisheries to facilitate management and find technological solutions for seasonal problems of the fishing population.
–Agencies