Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
Assertion (A): West Bengal is the leading producer of fish in India.
Reason (R): West Bengal has well developed fishing industry along the sea coast.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(A) is true, but (R) is false
(A) is false, but (R) is true
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Assertion (A) was correct in the context of the question period. At that time, West Bengal was regarded as one of India's leading fish-producing States and was placed first in total fish production.
However, the major basis of West Bengal's position was not marine fisheries but inland fisheries. The State has a large base of ponds, tanks, rivers, wetlands and freshwater aquaculture.
Reason (R) is incorrect. It is not correct to explain West Bengal's high fish production mainly by a well-developed fishing industry along its sea coast. Historical fisheries data and available explanations indicate that a very large share of West Bengal's fish production came from the inland/freshwater sector. Thus, coastal fishing does not correctly explain the Assertion.
Current Status (2026)
This update is important because the position has changed. According to Department of Fisheries data for FY 2023-24, Andhra Pradesh was India's largest fish-producing State with total production of 51.58 lakh tonnes. West Bengal produced 22.02 lakh tonnes, considerably below Andhra Pradesh.
Of West Bengal's total, 18.84 lakh tonnes came from inland fisheries and 3.18 lakh tonnes from marine fisheries. This also reinforces the logic of the question: West Bengal's fisheries strength has historically depended substantially on its inland fisheries sector.