Research Paper Geography Volume : 5 | Issue : 7 | July 2015 | ISSN - 2249-555X

Present Scenario, Problems and Prospects of Inland

Fishing of West Bengal, India

Keywords Aquaculture, Inland fishing, Fish processing

Pintu Paul Nilay Kumar Basak

Assistant Teacher, Krishnagar High School (H.S.) Assistant Teacher, Nagadi-Obaidia High School (H.S.)

ABSTRACT In West Bengal, inland aquaculture has emerged as a fast growing enterprise. West Bengal has been able
to secure the leading position in fish production for seven successive years and rewarded accordingly by
the Central Govt. as best productivity award. In this regard, this present paper is concerned with the present scenario,
problems and prospects of inland fishing in West Bengal. The total production of inland fish is mainly consumed in the
state and remaining is exported to other states. South 24 Parganas is the highest productive area of inland as well as
marine fish. Fish processing also carried out in this state. Fishes are exported primarily to Japan followed by Vietnam
and China. However fishery sectors in West Bengal are facing different types of problems. In spite of this, inland fisher-
ies are a sunrise sector of economy as well as rural development of West Bengal.

INTRODUCTION: OBJECTIVES:
Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture. In West The main objectives of the paper are to study the present
Bengal, inland aquaculture has emerged as a fast growing scenario of inland fishing in West Bengal and identify the
enterprise and has been able to secure the leading posi- present problems of inland fishing and their remedies.
tion in fish production for seven successive years and re-
warded accordingly by the Central Govt. as best produc- METHODOLOGY:
tivity award. West Bengal is the only state in India, where Pre-field: The present paper is mainly based on literature
fishes have been cultivated in every kind of water bodies’ study i.e. different types of articles, books, theses etc. in
i.e. brackish water, sweet water, sewage water and marine details to build up a clear idea on this topic.
water as well. The present paper is an attempt to access
to the West Bengal inland aquaculture with respect to its Field: The field study involves collection of map from NAT-
resource base, production trends, major productive areas, MO. The secondary data and information have been col-
seasonal variation in production, cultivation scenario, fish lected from different offices.
processing, marketing, problems and future prospects.
Post-field: The collected information has been studied
STUDY AREA: through different analytical and interpretative methods.
In the present research proposal has selected the state Data collected from secondary sources have been pro-
of West Bengal in India, which is in the monsoon belt. cessed, studied, explained and presented for the present
The latitude is 21030’N-27017’N and longitude is 85051’E- paper.
89052’E. As a consequence, it has extensive potential aqua
cultural area in the form of rivers and canals (2,526 km), INLAND WATER RESOUCES OF WEST BENGAL:
reservoirs (0.17 lakh hectares), tanks and ponds (2.76 lakh The potential areas of inland fishing in west Bengal are fol-
hectares), flood plain lakes (0.42 lakh hectares) and brack- lows-
ish water (2.10 lakh hectares).
Total inland water bodies (lakh ha.) 5.45

Rivers and canals (km.) 2526

Reservoirs (lakh ha.) 0.17

Tanks and ponds (lakh ha.) 2.76

Flood plain lakes (lakh ha.) 0.42

Brackish water (lakh ha.) 2.10

Source: Fishery resources and their utilization of West Ben-

gal

FISH PRODUCTION TRENDS AND DEMAND IN THE

STATE:
The total production of inland fish was 13.380 lakh ton in
the year 2012-13. They are mainly consumed in the state;
a large amount of inland fish is exported to Delhi, Ut-
tar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other adjoining
states. About 78 percent of the fish caught in the state

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 Research Paper Volume : 5 | Issue : 7 | July 2015 | ISSN - 2249-555X

is marketed as fresh or chilled and forms of staple food. ipur, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan and Nadia.
About 6 percent of the catch is used for drying and curing.
Frozen fish production accounts for 12 percent and about Fig 3: Top five fish producing districts in West Bengal
4 percent is used for reduction to fish meal.

The current availability of fish and per capita consumption

at 9 kg the state is facing a shortage of over 90 thousand
tons. The fish requirement of the state by the end of 2010-
11 had been estimated at over 14.71 lakh tons assuming
the total population. The demand will be more in view of
the increasing fish consumption.

Inland fish production trends and growth rates in West

Bengal during 2004-05 to 2012-13

Year Inland (Lakh tons) Growth rate (%) Source: Fishery resources and their utilization of West Ben-
gal
2003-04 9.880 + 4.46

2004-05 10.355 + 3.88 CULTIVATION SCENARIO IN WEST BENGAL:

West Bengal has been able to create a production of fish
2005-06 10.900 + 2.88 seeds in so far as inland fishery is concerned. 75 percent
of the total demand for fish seeds is made by West Bengal
2006-07 11.810 + 8.72 alone. To induce greater utilization of modern and scientific
technology in pisciculture, training is being imparted at the
2007-08 12.645 + 6.49 state, district and grass-root levels to fishermen in inland fish-
eries. As many as 12000 dwelling units as well as ponds and
2008-09 12.947 + 2.48
tanks area of 2351 hectres have been pressed after dredg-
2009-10 13.260 + 1.41 ing, in cultivation of fish model fishermen in villages of each
of which contains 100 dwelling units, community halls, credit
2010-11 12.460 - 4.11 societies, roads, sanitation etc. have been constituted in six
districts of the state.
2011-12 12.900 + 2.00
District wise water area (all source except river, khal /
2012-13 13.380 + 1.22
canal & reservoir) & Inland Fish Production during last
Source: Handbook of Fisheries Statistics, 2012-2013; De- Five years.
partment of Fisheries, Government of West Bengal

Fig 2: Growth rate of inland fish in West Bengal during

2003-04 to 2012-13

SEASONAL VARIATION IN PRODUCTION OF FISH:

Inland fish can be cultivated throughout the year with little
extra support during summers when water levels are ma-
jorly affected. However marine fishes in the inshore waters
linked to the seasonal variations increase in temperature
during summer and induce faster growth in shrimps but
reduces size maturity resulting in low fecundity and low
production. For cage culture operations of fish, the higher
temperature is not favourable.

MAJOR PRODUCTIVE AREAS IN WEST BENGAL:

South 24 Parganas is the highest productive area of inland
as well as marine fish aggregating to a total value of 3.3 Source: Handbook of Fisheries Statistics, 2012-2013; De-
lakh tons in the year 2009-10 followed by Paschim Medin- partment of Fisheries, Government of West Bengal

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 Research Paper Volume : 5 | Issue : 7 | July 2015 | ISSN - 2249-555X

FISH PROCESSING IN WEST BENGAL: PROBLEMS OF INLAND FISHING IN WEST BENGAL:

Now West Bengal processes fishes and sells or exports Inland fishing in West Bengal had progressed immensely.
in forms of fresh fish, dried fish, processed and canned However fishery sectors in West Bengal are facing different
fish, frozen shrimps, canned shrimps/prawns, lobsters, fish types of problems like-
paste, fish pickle, fish seed etc. out of the 21 fish and fish
processing units approved in the eastern region where 15 • The main problem perceived by fish farmers is poach-
are located in West Bengal like the first ever sea food pro- ing.
cessing zone was flagged in the state of West Bengal in • Water availability to maintain a minimum level of water
Chakgaria, South 24 Parganas, fish processing centres at in the ponds for the fish during the lean months.
Junput, dry fish farm at Junput and Haripur. This leaves • Capital was another major problem in most of the
enough room for investors to invest in value added fish sites.
products in the state as compared to its counter parts in • Similarly the problem of poisoning of ponds is com-
other states of India. mon in West Bengal.
• There is no effective fishermen’s association in West
MARKETING OF PROCESSED FISH: Bengal for the improvement of this kind of activities.
In West Bengal processed fishes are available in two • There is no proper leasing policy to increase the pro-
forms- 1. Frozen fish which are mainly prepared for export duction.
purpose; 2. Ready to eat, ready to cook and ready to fry • Decentralization problem of fish production.
items and these are prepared by three companies. These • Disease to fish is threatened to the fish farmers.
are- 1. BENFISH, 2. IFB, and 3. TRIVENI. • Lack of infrastructure development like cold storage,
marketing structure, roads, transportation, labour etc.
Fishes are exported primarily through Kolkata and Haldia
port to Japan followed by Vietnam and China. Export to PROSPECTS OF INLAND FISHING IN WEST BENGAL:
Japan only aggregates to a total annual revenue of rupees It seems apparent that strategies for increasing fish pro-
650 crore. Out of the total export 90 percent are shrimps duction from fresh water aquaculture should be directed
and the 10 percent includes ornamental fish, crab, fresh towards horizontal and vertical growth of the industries.
water prawns. The following components hold the key to the success of
these strategies-
There are few big wholesale fish markets in West Bengal
like Howrah fish market (largest fish market in eastern In- • Diversified production through integration with agricul-
dia), Dimond harbour fish market (biggest sea fish market ture and other allied sectors.
in West Bengal), Baithakkhana Market, B.K.Paul market, • Focused attention on seed production especially of
Bantala fish market, Baghajatin bazar, Chingrighata fish carps, shrimps, catfishes and fresh water prawns.
market, Malancha market (specially for shrimp), Patipukur • Conservation of fish diversity and fish habitat with the
market for a variety of fishes. help of remote sensing technology.
• In expensive solutions to storage facilities for both ma-
FINDINGS: rine and inland fisheries.
• Though agriculture is the main source of economy, in- • Effective technology to introduce cage and pen culture
land fishing is another important source in this field of in inland water bodies.
West Bengal due to presence of abundant rivers, ca- • Amendment of leasing policy to increase lease dura-
nals, beels and ponds. tion to over ten years.
• There is a huge demand of fish in this state though the • Decentralize of fish production all over the states.
production is not sufficient. The total production of in- • Formulations against fish disease.
land fish was 13.380 lakh ton in the year 2012-13. • Development of infrastructure for both production and
• Inland fish can be cultivated throughout the year with post-harvest activities.
little extra support during summers when water levels
are majorly affected. CONCLUDING REMARKS:
• South 24 Parganas is the highest productive area of in- As a primary activity fishing is a source of economy of
land as well as marine fish followed by Paschim Medin- West Bengal. Undoubtedly, inland fishing in the sector of
ipur, North 24 Parganas, Burdwan and Nadia. economy can play a vital role in rural development, do-
• Fish processing also carried out in the state of West mestic security, habitants, employment generation as well
Bengal and the first ever sea food processing zone as export earnings. It is also parallel source of income be-
was flagged in Chakgaria, South 24 Parganas, fish pro- side agriculture in the rural areas. But there is no sufficient
cessing centres at Junput, dry fish farm at Junput and attention in this field. As a result, inland fishing is suffer-
Haripur. ing from various types of problems. In spite of this, it can
• Fishes are exported primarily through Kolkata and Hal- be said that inland fisheries is a sunrise sector of economy
dia port to Japan followed by Vietnam and China. as well as rural development of West Bengal. For this im-
provement necessary steps and action plans will be need-
ed.

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S.: ‘A Perspective on Fisheries Sector Interventions for Livelihood Promotion’. 2010 | Food processing industries survey, West Bengal | Ghosh, S.
and Indu, R. : ‘Inland culture fisheries in village tanks and ponds : a multi-location study in India’. | Hanbook of Fisheries Statistics, 2012-2013; Department of Fisheries,
Government of West Bengal | Handbook of Seminar related to Pisciculture (2014), Nadia District Council & Fisheries Department, Nadia District | Katiha, Pradeep K.;
Jena, J.K.; Pillai, N.G.K; Chakraborty, C.; Dey, M.M.:’Inland aquaculture in India: Past trend, present status and future prospects’. | Literature Review on the Potential
Contribution of Fish related Activities to Food and Nutritional Security and Poverty Alleviation: AFSPAN Work Package 2, 2012 | Sugunan, V.V., Welcomme, R.L.,
Bene, C., Brummett, R.E. and Beveridge, M.C.M.: Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture | West Bengal Primary School Atlas, National Thematic Mapping Organisation
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