Present status and future prospects of fisheries in manipur

Manipur State shares a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots and harbours more than 280 fish species. The State is home to the largest freshwater lake of the North east India and the only “Floating National Park” in the world. Fisheries play a very important role in the socio-economic sector of the State. There are around 56,461 ha of water bodies suitable for fish culture. However, only around 32.9% has been used and developed for fish production. The current fish production of the State is 30,500 mt against requirements of 40,000 mt. If the resources are prudently utilised, the State has potential not only to attain self-sufficiency in fish production but can also supply surplus to the neighbouring states. New and better technologies along with better plan and policy would help to enhance the production. Understanding the various problems and issues faced by the farmers/fishers and improvising strategies to address them will contribute to augment production and productivity. Analysing the present status and the potentiality, the future prospects of fisheries in the State have been projected along with strategies to improvement and development.