He was speaking at the Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai, after inaugurating new infrastructure facilities in the institute.
Pawar stated that India is the second largest producer of fish in the world after China, and also second in aquaculture production. The fisheries sector has grown at an average rate of about six per cent over the last five years, is a major foreign exchange earner, and a source of livelihood for over 14 million people. India has still got vast aquaculture and fisheries - both inland and marine - resources which need to be further explored and harnessed.
For this to happen, the fisheries sector needs professionally educated and trained manpower. In this context, Pawar informed that as against about 5,000 graduates available presently, this sector would need about 30,000 graduates by 2020, as estimated by a recent study. "Therefore, the need of the hour is to raise competent and skilled human resources for growth of fisheries sector," he said.
