The government will pilot a Fish Marketing and Quality Control Bill to regulate fish trade, eliminate middlemen, and ensure the quality of fish being sold through markets, Fisheries Minister J.Mercykutty has said. Replying to the demand for grants for Fisheries Department in the Assembly on Tuesday, the Minister said the proposed Bill would have provisions to regulate the trade. Primary cooperative societies would be strengthened, licence would be made mandatory for auctioneers, and women-friendly markets would be set up across the State, so that fisher women would have to work only from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. It had been proposed to set up 10 markets in each district. Functioning of Matsayfed would be streamlined. Assistance from the Fishermen’s Debt Relief Commission for those who have taken loans would be enhanced from Rs.75,000 to Rs.1 lakh. The government would construct 200 matsya bhavans to support the fisher folk. A decision had been made for increasing inland fish production from 40,000 tonnes to 80,000 tonnes per annum. The production of fish seed too would be raised from 2.5 crore to 6 crore. A coastal connectivity green corridor linking harbours and fish landing centres would be constructed in two years. As many as 24,000 families living in the coastal region, comprising 22,000 fishermen families, would have to be rehabilitated for implementing the project. A total housing scheme too had been planned for the homeless and landless fishermen families. Traditional fishermen would be trained in deep sea trawling. An integrated coastal development plan would be implemented in six months. Day scholars would be admitted to fisheries schools and hostel facilities would be improved. It had been proposed to convert select schools into smart schools.
2016, The Hindu