Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala on Monday called for ensuring enough supply of shrimp in the domestic market. He said that most of the shrimp produced in India was exported. The stakeholders had to ensure that 50-60% of shrimp produced in the country was sold in the domestic market.
The Union Minister was launching National Surveillance Programme on Fish Diseases Phase 2 and Genetic Improvement Programme of Indian White Shrimp ( panaeus indicus) at the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai. Mr. Rupala said the surveillance programme was being introduced to reduce economic loss to farmers and bring down expenditure on drugs. It would also help in increasing exports. “At present, we are exporting to 120 countries and are among the top five fish exporters,” he added.
Genetic improvement
On the Genetic Improvement Programme of Indian White Shrimp (panaeus indicus), he said that dependence on only one species of shrimp had proven risky and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insisted upon introducing another species. The native species Indian white shrimp was available in the wild. The aim of the programme would be to collect good shrimps and develop pathogen-free seeds. From the second year of the five-year-long programme, improved seeds would be provided to farmers, he said.
Union Minister of State for Fisheries L. Murugan said despite the pandemic, aquaculture exports from India had increased by 30%. It stands at over ₹44,000 crore. He said tenders had been called for the development of the Kasimedu Fishing harbour in Chennai for carrying out work totalling ₹120 crore. As far as the seaweed park was concerned, he said that ₹1,056 crore had been allocated for the project for which approval had been given. A total of 682 deep-sea fishing vessels had been sanctioned and a subsidy of 60% was being provided to those under SC/ST and women categories. Union Fisheries Secretary Jithendra Nath Swain said that ₹33.4 crore had been set aside for the surveillance programme for a three-year period. It would help the industry identify, isolate and treat the cause of the diseases in the shrimp.
State Fisheries Secretary A. Karthik said shrimp production and export from Tamil Nadu had increased from 47,865 tonnes in 2011-12 to 1,62,838 tonnes in 2021-22. In monetary terms, this was an increase from ₹2,262 crore to ₹9,542 crore over the last 10 years. J.K. Jena, DDG (Fisheries Science), ICAR, New Delhi; and J. Balaji, Joint Secretary (Marine Fisheries), Union Department of Fisheries, were present.