West Bengal has been able to secure the leading position in fish-production for seven successive years and has been rewarded accordingly by the Central Government as best productivity aware. This has been possible only as an outcome of implementation of various programmers of the Department concerned taking in its stride common rural people as partners in successful coordination of the Fisheries Department, the three-tier Panchayat system and the administration. West Bengal is the only state in India, where fishes have been cultivated in every kind of water bodies i.e. brackish water, sweet water, sewage water and marine water as well.

West Bengal has been able to create a stir in the production of fish seeds in so far as inland fishery is concerned. 75 per cent of the total demand for fish seeds are met by West Bengal alone.

To induce greater utilization of modern and scientific technology in pisciculture, training is being imparted at the State, district and grass-root levels to fishermen in Inland fisheries. The training in fishing in deep sea with the help of mechanized boats and other technological devices has generated much enthusiasm in fishermen. The minor fishing harbour at Shankarpur in Midnapore district, Fresergunj in South 24-Parganas and the Barge Jetty at Namkhana are landmarks in the effort to create safety and certainty in a fisherman's' life.

As many as 12000 dwelling units as well as ponds and tanks area of 2351,48 hectares have been pressed after dredging, in cultivation of fish Model fishermen villages each of which contains 100 dwelling units, community halls, credit societies, roads, sanitation etc. have been constituted in six districts of the State. Extensive efforts have been adopted in the production of prawns both in sweet and saline water-beds. A 100 crores project for culture of prawns is on its way to completion with the financial aid of the World Bank at the Meen-Dwip, which stands opposite to Haldia, for Prawn culture. The hill-stream fishery at Jhora in the hilly region of Darjeeling is the first of its kind in the country. Culture of fish is also being conducted in sewage-water an area measuring of 4000 hectares at the outskirts of Calcutta. The importance, however, of the fishermen's cooperative societies in increasing fish-production and bettering their condition is immense.