Minister for fisheries J. Mercy Kuttyamma visited the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology here to acquaint herself with CIFT’s achievements in addressing problems related to harvesting and post-harvesting sectors in fisheries. The Minister said the government wanted to prioratise fisheries production and had set a target of 40% enhancement. Beyond production enhancement, employment generation had become a challenge in State fisheries. The problem could be met through preservation of the harvested fish and promotion of value-added products, she said. Lauding the efforts of CIFT scientists, the Minister expressed her desire that CIFT play a big role in technological advancement in the field. She emphasized the need to exploit the potential of the natural resources like waterbodies for scaling up fisheries production in the State. In this context, she cited the example of Andhra Pradesh which was promoting aquaculture in artificial water bodies. Expressing her concern over fish contamination, she called for prophylactic measures to contain spread of diseases.