The Samikhsya Bureau
Bhubaneswar: Odisha has achieved another milestone with the state receiving two prestigious national level fisheries awards on the occasion of World Fisheries Day on Saturday.
The awards were presented in a ceremony organized by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India in New Delhi.
Odisha received the “Best Marine State” award and Kalahandi district received the “Best District Award” in Inland fisheries sector.
The awards were presented by Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh in presence of Minister of State Pratap Chandra Sarangi and dignitaries from Government of India.
The ‘Best Marine State’ award carries a financial incentive of Rs.10 lakhs while the ‘Best Inland District’ award for Kalahandi District carries a financial incentive of Rs.3 lakhs.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Department and Kalahandi District Administration for receiving the awards.
Odisha is committed to be a pioneer state in fish production to ensure food security and boost livelihood, he stated.
The fisheries and aquaculture sector in Odisha grew at an impressive rate of 18.98 % and produced around 8.16 lakh metric tons of fish during the financial year 2019-20, officials informed.
The average annual growth rate of the fish production in the State over last five years is over 14%, which is one of the best in the food and agriculture sector.
The seafood exports from the State has increased by 78% in last five years from Rs 1817 Crore during 2014-15 to Rs 3243 Cr during 2019-20.
Currently the State exports over 66,000 tons of sea food, majority of which is frozen shrimp.
Raghu Prasad, Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Fisheries & Animal Resources Development Department, received the “Best Marine State” award on behalf of the State Government while Sashikant Acharya, Deputy Director of Fisheries, received the “Best Inland District” Award for Kalahandi district.
