It is fact that tuna fish makes up for nine percent of the fish trade in the world. To get the benefit of tuna fishing Indian state government is all set to encourage fishermen in the state. According to the information the Maharashtra government will soon push a Government resolution (GR) that will help provide better boats, equipment for fishing, further storage and processing.
Minister of State for Fisheries, Bhaskar Jadhav informed that currently state fishermen only venture about 50 miles into the water and our national limit is 200 miles. He added that it is only when they go deeper into the sea that they will find fish like Tuna which have an international demand.
The state government has identified the coastal district of Ratnagiri for conducting a pilot project for fishing the tuna. Fishermen have not been into tuna fishing because their boats are only twenty metres long and not strong enough to go deep into the sea, where the waters are choppy and tides are dangerous.
Central government, presently, provides funds for promoting such activities, the benefits of which have been exploited by coastal states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Lakshadweep. Jadhav said that the government is willing to help fishermen to make their boats into steel ones and suitable for tuna fishing .
