Government keen on upgrading College of Fisheries to a university, says Minister Mankala Vaidya

Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Waterway Mankala Vaidya on Saturday said the department is working on establishing a fisheries university at the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru.

Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Waterway Mankala Vaidya on Saturday said the department is working on establishing a fisheries university at the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru.

He was speaking after inaugurating the National Fishers Day programme and a symposium on Strategies for Bridging the Yield Gap in Fisheries and Aquaculture (BYGFISH) at the college here. The college organised the programme with its alumni association, the Veterinary Sciences, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries University, Bidar, and others.

Mr. Vaidya said the college has all the qualifications to be upgraded to a university and has 65 acres of land too. It is a model to other states and students of this college will be able to open new colleges and universities elsewhere.

Following a technical objection that a single institution cannot be upgraded as a university, the department has planned to open a training centre at Manki in Uttara Kannada district for marine fishing and upgrading the fish seedlings production centre and opening a fishing skill development centre at Alamatti in Vijayapura district to promote inland fishing. With four units, the College should qualify to become a university, the Minister said.

Mr. Vaidya said the government has enhanced the subsidised diesel quota for deep sea fishers from 1.5 lakh litres to 2 lakh litres per season. The government spends ₹285 crore towards this subsidy, he said, adding that steps are being taken to ensure there is no disruption in supply of kerosene to traditional fishers.

The Minister also said the department has taken steps to establish a seafood park at Byndoor in Udupi district at an estimated cost of ₹100 crore. A full-fledged fish market at an estimated cost of ₹50 crore and a building for the department at an estimated cost of ₹20 crore will come up at Bengaluru on a three acre land obtained from the Veterinary Department at Hebbal in Bengaluru, he said.

MLAs D. Vedavyasa Kamath and Y. Bharath Shetty, MLC Ivan D’Souza, Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kannur, University Vice Chancellor K.C. Veeranna, department director Dinesh Kumar Kaller and others were present.