15 years of Aquaculture Mission
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 3: The Meghalaya government’s renewed thrust on developing the fisheries sector in the state has once again raised a question why the state still remains far from self-sufficiency after more than a decade of interventions under the much hyped Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission (MSAM)?
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma recently announced that the state is exploring the development of a fisheries cluster under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) in collaboration with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), NABARD and private partner Uday Aqua.
The proposed cluster aims to integrate hatcheries, quality fish seed production, feed manufacturing, cold-chain infrastructure, processing, value addition and marketing under a single ecosystem.
However, when contacted by The Shillong Times, Swapnil Tembe, Secretary, Fisheries Department declined to elaborate on the project.
“At this point, the project is at concept stage only so project specific details cannot be shared,” Tembe said.
Beyond that brief response, the department did not provide details on the proposed investment, implementation timeline, funding pattern, expected production targets or how the cluster would differ from previous aquaculture initiatives despite repeated requests from this newspaper.
The Chief Minister’s announcement comes against the backdrop of continuous deficit which forces the state to import nearly 40 percent of fish from outside states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
The ruling NPP government has acknowledged the fact on the floor of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly earlier this year.
Replying to a question during the Budget Session in March, the Chief Minister informed the House that fish production in Meghalaya had increased five-fold—from around 4,000 metric tonnes in 2011 to nearly 20,000 metric tonnes at present.
However, he admitted that the state’s annual demand stands at 32,000 metric tonnes, leaving a shortfall of approximately 12,000 metric tonnes, which continues to be met through imports from Assam, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
The figures underscore the paradox confronting the fisheries sector in the state.
While production has grown significantly over the past decade, Meghalaya still imports nearly 40 per cent of the fish consumed in the state.
The gap persists despite the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission, one of the government’s flagship rural livelihood programmes launched in 2011 to make the state self-sufficient in fish production.
During his Assembly reply, Sangma highlighted the progress made under the mission, stating that 3,230 fish ponds had been constructed between 2020 and 2024. He also informed the House that the state now has 61 hatcheries producing around 24.7 million quality fish fingerlings annually, while another 35 hatcheries have been sanctioned to further strengthen seed production. Additionally, 15 fish-feed mills have been established with a combined annual production capacity of 778 metric tonnes.
Earlier this year, the government also announced plans for Aqua Mission 3.0, proposing to bring another 4,000 hectares under scientific fish farming in an effort to bridge the production gap.
Officials believe the integrated model can address long-standing bottlenecks by providing farmers with access to quality fish seed, scientific pond management, feed supply, disease management, cold-chain facilities and organised marketing, while reducing post-harvest losses and improving productivity.
The project is expected to benefit more than 1,000 fish farmers and strengthen the entire fisheries value chain rather than supporting isolated fish ponds.
Yet questions remain over whether the latest initiative can succeed where earlier programmes have fallen short.
For decades, the Fisheries sector has been plagued by the inadequate hatchery infrastructure, shortage of quality fish seed, fragmented production, limited feed availability, weak cold-chain facilities and poor market linkages as major constraints preventing the state from achieving self-sufficiency.
According to the government, the proposed cluster is designed to address many of these structural weaknesses. But with the project still at the nascent stage and few details available, it remains unclear how quickly these long-standing challenges can be overcome.
For now, the numbers tell their own story. Fifteen years after the launch of the Meghalaya State Aquaculture Mission and despite a substantial increase in fish production, Meghalaya continues to rely on imported fish to meet almost two-fifths of its annual requirement.
