State to conduct census for inland fisheries resources

31 December 2012

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 31 DEC: The state government has started the process to conduct a census for inland fisheries resources across the state to collect information on the number of fishermen, their craft and gear, socio-economic profile, demographic features, behavioural parameters and other related facts.
Though, at the national level, no such census has been conducted yet for inland fisheries in any state in the country. this is the first time a state government has conducted such a census, said an official.
The state Fisheries Department has already circulated an order to respective fisheries officers of all districts asking them to take suitable steps so that the survey work could be executed in the right manner and completed within the stipulated time period of three months from January to March 2013.
According to the department, water body resource survey in the state was started during 2009-10 to prepare GIS map using RS technology, but due to its limitations it was not possible to cover all aspects of fisheries resources.
“In order to fill up the gap and to plot all resources ~ water bodies, fisherman family, household, market, hatchery, co-operatives, crafts and gears, fish-based industries, processing plants and ice plants ~ to make it more informative, a pilot project entitled “Complete Enumeration of Fisheries Resources” will be implemented in some selected blocks of all districts,” the joint director of the fisheries department said.
According to the plans, a contractual enumerator will be engaged from every gram panchayat with a fixed remuneration of Rs 4,000 per month for three months.
The enumerators would visit every fisherman's home in all concerned villages. They would note down the number of country boats, mechanised boats, traditional boats, fishing gear besides collecting information about the families according to the guidelines of the Fisheries Department. To conduct the census, the state government has allotted Rs 14. 97 lakh, said an official.
He said: “Fisheries is an important sector in the state. It provides employment to millions of people and contributes to food security. As no specific data on the inland fisheries resources is currently available, our government cannot chalk out development plans on this sector. After completion of this census, the state government can go through with the various development plans.”