Working Group Report on - Haryana Kisan Ayog

harvest handling practices, storage, transportation and value addition. Thefirst processing plant, set up in private sector with NFDB assistance, is yet tofunction to its full capacity owing to marketing related issues.• The total fish yield can be projected to reach 1,45,250 tonnes by2017 in a scenario where one fourth of salt affected areas and all theidentified water logged areas are brought under aquaculture. Proposedgrowth rate of fish production would be 10 per cent. In the second scenario,assuming that the highly productive species like Pangasianodonhypophthalmus finds greater consumer and grower acceptance resulting inhigh productivity gains in the immediate future and on the other handconsidering greater technological success of shrimp culture in salt affectedareas leading to positive trends in area and productivity, expected fishproduction will be 3,50,730 tonnes by the end of XII Plan (2017-22).• For capture fisheries the focus should be restoration of biodiversity andfisheries enhancement in the natural bodies keeping in view the supply ofquality brood stock as well as the very sustainability of fisheries. Declaring fishsanctuaries and ranching of endemic species could be some of the strategies inthis regard. Intensive cage culture would also contribute significantly to theoverall production.• Though existing regulations sufficiently provide for development and prohibitexploitative fishing in natural water bodies; their compliance is far fromsatisfactory. Moving towards community based management of these waterbodies with necessary policy and regulation support can be the only viablelong term option to avoid habitat degradation and sustain fish production.• Fishers / farmers living in the periphery of these common property resourcesshould be the primary stakeholders in their management. Suitable locationspecific plan needs to be developed taking into account their potential for ecotourism,fish sanctuaries, sports fisheries, fish production potential, etc.• Community ponds which are the major water resources for fish production arehighly polluted due to village garbage and domestic sewage. Awareness need( xiii )