Q.Discuss the role of fishery in enhancement of food production.

Fishery refers to industries concerned with catching, processing or selling fish, shellfish, prawns and other aquatic animals — either caught from natural water bodies (capture fishery, marine or inland) or specifically bred and reared in confined water bodies (culture fishery/aquaculture).

Role of fishery in enhancing food production:

• Source of high-quality protein: Fish and other aquatic animals are an excellent source of easily digestible animal protein, and are a major part of the diet for a large section of the population, especially in coastal and riverine regions.
• Marine fisheries: India has a long coastline, and marine fish such as pomfret, mackerel, tuna, sardines, etc., along with prawns and other shellfish, are harvested and also form a major item of sea-food export, contributing substantially to the national economy.
• Inland fisheries and aquaculture: Freshwater bodies (ponds, tanks, rivers) are used to culture fish species such as Catla, Rohu, Mrigal (Indian major carps) and prawns. Composite fish culture is an important practice where multiple compatible species that occupy different feeding zones/niches of the same pond (surface feeders, mid-water feeders, bottom feeders, and species feeding on different food sources like phytoplankton, zooplankton and weeds) are grown together, so the pond's resources are used efficiently and total fish yield is maximised.
• Employment and livelihood: Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct employment to fishermen and allied workers (in fishing, processing, marketing, transport), and support the livelihood of a large rural and coastal population. …

Split the answer into marine and inland/culture fisheries, mention composite fish culture as a specific yield-boosting practice, and close w …

• Discussing only marine fishery and omitting inland/culture fisheries (aquaculture) and composite fish culture.
• Forgetting that fishery includes prawns, crabs and molluscs, not just finfish. …