World Aquaculture 27 Table 2. Contribution of capture fisheries and aquaculture to total fish production during the past five years (19992000 to 2003-04) States Capture fisheries Aquaculture Production (in T) in MT % of Total in T % of Total Total Annual Average Assam 452120 54.62 375140 45.35 827260 165452 Arunachal Pradesh 3325 26.08 9422 73.92 12747 2549.40 Nagaland - - 26760 100.00 26760 5352 Mizoram 1800 10.67 15070 89.33 16870 3374 Tripura 3434.45 4.45 73765.05 95.55 77199 15439.80 Meghalaya 16165.47 61.36 10177.92 38.64 26343.38 5268.68 Sikkim 425 76.58 130 23.42 555 111 Manipur 49350 60.00 32900 40.00 82250 16450 Northeast (Total) 526619.92 49.22 543364.97 50.78 1069984.38 213996.88 Fig. 2. Stocking of stunted seed. Note large head relative to body size. the information provided by various state fisheries departments of the region. More than 50% of production came from aquaculture alone. Interestingly in some of the states, almost all the production was reported to be coming only from aquaculture as in the state of Nagaland. In Mizoram, nearly 89% of production came from aquaculture with an annual total production averaging about 3374 t. In Tripura, more than 95% of production came from aquaculture. This reflects not only the growing importance of aquaculture, but also the great urgency and need to focus on aquaculture to meet the growing demand for fish. Human Health Benefits Fish is considered a healthy food for all people. Fish protein is known to be well digested by children as well as elderly people. Fish has the most essential amino acids required for human nutrition. In addition, the fat of fish is considered to be healthy because of its rich resources of omega-3 fatty acids. Consumption of fish with high fat content has many positive health benefits, particularly in preventing the heart disease. Most importantly, consumption of fish by pregnant women enhances the intelligence of the growing baby in the womb. Further, eating fish on a regular basis from early childhood contributes to the development of various organs, including the brain. The positive effects of eating fish contribute to increased demand and an urgency to increase production. The overall average fish-eating population for the region is 88% (Table 3). However, states such as Mizoram and Sikkim report only 10% of the population as regular fish eating people. Based on the human population size and the total fish production reported, per capita fish consumption is 4.1 kg/year in Mizoram, with a regional average of 6.0 kg/year (Table 4). This shows that a large amount of fish is imported from other parts of the country and even from neighboring countries through border trade. The data gathered on the amount of fish imported to various northeastern states is presented in Table 5. More than 38,000 t of fish is imported to the Fig. 3. Providing vegetation for fish food.
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