The northeast is yet to become self-sufficient in fish production despite the fact that 95% of the region’s population consumes fish. The region, although endowed with abundant water bodies, continues to reel from a shortfall of fish supply. However, scientists, policymakers and government agencies want to plug the shortfall by optimum utilization of water bodies through open water fisheries. They had a deliberation at a meeting organized by the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) here recently, for preparing a state-specific roadmap to ensure the region’s fish production potential is fully exploited for attaining self-sufficiency. Forty delegates from different fishery institutes and fishery departments of northeast states took part at the regional consultation to identify the strategies for sustainable development of this sector. According to CIFRI, northeast’s fish production in 2015-16 was 4,23,749 MT, 4% of the country’s total fish production. Assam had the largest share with 2,97,000 MT, Tripura produced 68,331 MT, Manipur 32,000 MT, Nagaland 8,220 MT, Mizoram 6,828 MT, Meghalaya 6,560 MT, Arunachal Pradesh 4,410 MT and Sikkim produced 400 MT. The northeast’s present requirement is 4,82,384 MT, of which 86% was met by local fish production. State fisheries minister Parimal Suklabaidya, who was also present at the consultation, suggested fisheries departments should work in close coordination for achieving self-sufficiency in fish production. The state government recently launched a blue revolution initiative through the ‘Ponds for all – fish for all’ scheme. CIFRI said fish production potential of open-water fisheries alone in the northeast has been estimated at 139,846 ton (14,142 ton from rivers, 8,358 ton from reservoirs, 117,346 ton from floodplain wetlands, lakes and swamps). Open-water fisheries relate to fish production from natural water bodies.