The statement was made during a meeting hosted by the Department of Capture Fisheries and Resources Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).
By the mid-March, 100,000 vessels were granted fishing licenses, accounting for 85% of total registered boats.
However, the state policies to promote offshore fishing operations were implemented slowly while fishing ground forecast did not receive great attention.
Measures to deal with these setbacks were discussed during the meeting and it was agreed that the fleet should be shaped up and utilized to its maximum capacity so that the output will achieve 1.5 million MT in the South fishing season.
VOV