Financial Assistance for setting up of Ornamental Fish Unit in Goa

What is the ornamental fish unit assistance scheme?

Financial Assistance for setting up of Ornamental Fish Unit in Goa is scheme number 10 in the list of state schemes published in the citizen charter of the Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Goa. It provides a capital subsidy to anyone in Goa setting up a unit that breeds or rears ornamental fish, the aquarium trade, as distinct from food fisheries.

Ornamental fish farming sits in the Directorate's aquaculture portfolio rather than its marine or inland capture portfolio. It needs land, controlled water and technical knowledge rather than a boat and a net, which is why the eligibility conditions in this scheme look different from the rest of the Directorate's list: a water testing report, a project report and a training certificate are all required, while a vessel registration certificate and a fishing licence are not.

The Directorate of Fisheries states its wider objective as sustainably harvesting marine fisheries resources, providing infrastructure to fishermen, promoting aquaculture, and improving the socio-economic conditions of fishers while generating employment and food security. This scheme is one of the aquaculture instruments under that objective, alongside the Directorate's brackish water, crab farming, fresh water aquaculture and mussel and oyster farming schemes.

How much subsidy is available?

The Directorate publishes three separate ceilings, all at the same subsidy rate of 50% of the actual cost.

Two points are worth being precise about. First, the ceiling is on the subsidy, not on the project. A combined unit costing Rs 6,00,000 does not attract Rs 3,00,000, it attracts Rs 2,50,000, and the balance is the applicant's own contribution. Second, the combined ceiling of Rs 2,50,000 is less than the sum of the two separate ceilings, so a project genuinely covering both functions should be presented as a combined unit and costed accordingly, not split.

Because 50% of the cost is always the applicant's own share, the Directorate asks for proof of availability of finance among the documents. Have that in place before applying.

Who is eligible for this scheme, and who is not?

You can apply if:

• You are a fish farmer, an individual, a registered self-help group or a society interested in setting up an ornamental fish farming unit in the State of Goa.
• You are, as a fish farmer or individual, a resident of Goa for the last 15 years.
• Your site has adequate water facilities for setting up the unit.
• You have own or leased land adequate to set up an ornamental unit.
• You have undergone a training programme on ornamental fish farming organised by the Fisheries Department, MPEDA or ICAR, and hold the completion certificate.

You are not eligible if:

• You have not undergone the training at the Directorate of Fisheries, MPEDA or ICAR. This is a stated eligibility condition, not merely a document.
• You are an individual or fish farmer with less than 15 years residence in Goa.
• Your proposed site lacks adequate water, or the water testing report shows parameters unsuitable for the species proposed.
• You have neither owned nor leased land of a size adequate for the unit.
• You cannot show finance for your own 50% share.
• You are a group or society that is not registered. The registration document is what stands in place of the individual identity documents.

How to apply for ornamental fish unit assistance in Goa

1. Do the training first. Enrol in an ornamental fish farming training programme run by the Directorate of Fisheries, MPEDA or ICAR and obtain the completion certificate. Everything else in the application follows from it.
2. Choose and secure the site. Own or lease land adequate for the unit, and confirm that adequate water is available at the site through the year.
3. Get the water tested. The report must cover pH, total hardness, carbonate hardness and salinity.
4. Prepare the project or feasibility report. Decide clearly whether you are setting up a breeding unit, a rearing unit or a combined unit, because that choice fixes which ceiling applies. Cost the project realistically. The subsidy is calculated on actual cost.
5. Obtain the prescribed application form. The Directorate's citizen charter says the applicant has to obtain the prescribed form from the Fisheries Officer or Fisheries Surveyor posted in the concerned blocks or jetties. The Directorate of Fisheries head office is at Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji.
6. Fill the form and assemble every document. Two photographs; for individuals and fish farmers the Voter ID copy, passport copy and Aadhaar copy with the fifteen-year valid registration certificate, plus Form I and XIV; for self-help groups and societies the registration document; proof of availability of land and of finance; the water testing report; the project or feasibility report; and the training completion certificate.
7. Submit the application to the Fisheries Officer. The duly filled application with the documents goes to the Fisheries Officer, who conducts the necessary inspection where required.
8. Wait for the inspection and forwarding. The Fisheries Officer forwards the application along with the inspection report and the prescribed fees to the head office through the respective block or jetty.

How do I check the status of my application?

The Directorate of Fisheries routes applications through the block structure, so the person who received your file is the person who can tell you where it is. Approach:

1. the Fisheries Officer or Fisheries Surveyor of your block, for inspection and forwarding status;
2. the Directorate of Fisheries head office, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji-Goa, phone 0832-2224838, for sanction status;
3. the Deputy Director of Fisheries (General & Aquaculture), under whom the aquaculture section falls.

Keep your own copies of the training certificate, the water testing report and the project report — these are the three documents most often asked for again during scrutiny.

What are the common reasons an application is rejected?

• No training completion certificate from the Directorate of Fisheries, MPEDA or ICAR. This is the single most common gap, because applicants often plan the training after the project.
• Water testing report missing a parameter. All four; pH, total hardness, carbonate hardness and salinity, are named.
• Inadequate water at the site, which the inspection will identify even if the report is clean.
• Land too small for the proposed unit, or a lease that does not cover the site being developed.
• No proof of finance for the applicant's own 50% share.
• Less than 15 years residence in Goa for an individual or fish farmer applicant.
• An unregistered group. A self-help group or society must produce its registration document.
• A project report that does not match the ceiling claimed, for example, claiming Rs 2,50,000 for what the report describes only as a rearing unit.

Is there a central scheme for ornamental fish as well?

Yes, and it is worth knowing about before you choose a route. The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), listed under centrally sponsored schemes in the same Directorate of Fisheries citizen charter, funds ornamental and recreational fisheries as a separate component with its own unit costs, including backyard ornamental fish rearing units, medium-scale ornamental fish rearing units, integrated ornamental fish units combining breeding and rearing, and the establishment of freshwater ornamental fish units.

The state scheme described on this page and the PMMSY component are administered by the same Directorate but under different rules and different funding patterns. Ask the Deputy Director of Fisheries (General & Aquaculture) which route fits the scale of your project before you commit to one application.

Where do I raise a grievance about this scheme?

The Directorate of Fisheries citizen charter sets out the redressal route explicitly. All services are to be extended courteously by all staff members, and if there is any dissatisfaction or complaint about a service or its standards, it can be registered with the Department's Grievance Redressal Officer. Grievances can also be lodged by email at dir-fish.goa@nic.in. The Directorate commits to acknowledging all complaints and communicating the final action taken within 30 days.

The citizen charter names the Deputy Director of Fisheries as the Public Grievance Officer. The Directorate's head office is at Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Panaji-Goa, telephone 0832-2224838, and the departmental control room can be reached on 0832-2425263.

Under the Right to Information Act, the Directorate has designated Assistant Public Information Officers across its sections and blocks, and the Deputy Director of Fisheries-I (General & Aquaculture) is the First Appellate Authority for the General Branch and the South, Central and Offshore sections.

Key facts to remember

• The scheme is scheme 10 in the state schemes list of the Goa Directorate of Fisheries citizen charter.
• The subsidy is 50% of actual cost in every case.
• Ceilings: Rs 1,50,000 for a breeding unit, Rs 1,50,000 for a rearing unit, Rs 2,50,000 for a combined unit.
• Fish farmers, individuals, registered self-help groups and societies are all eligible.
• Individual applicants and fish farmers must be Goa residents for 15 years.
• Training on ornamental fish farming from the Fisheries Department, MPEDA or ICAR is compulsory.
• Own or leased land and adequate water facilities are both required.
• A water testing report covering pH, total hardness, carbonate hardness and salinity must accompany the application.
• Grievances go to dir-fish.goa@nic.in with a 30-day response commitment.