To implement cage fish farming as per the Goa State Mariculture Policy 2020, the state government has proposed to constitute an expert committee for zonation and demarcation of marine waters for mariculture. The committee will be headed by the director of fisheries as chairman while the deputy director of fisheries will be the member convener. The members will include a representative of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in Goa, a representative of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) Karwar, Karnataka, a representative of the fisheries survey of India, Mormugao and a representative of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, South Goa, department of agriculture. The committee will identify the zones for sea cage farming and demarcate them as zone A and zone B. It will also identify the site where sea cage culture can be permitted by issuing detailed geographical co-ordinates. TOI had reported in August that mariculture, a specialised branch of aquaculture, may soon receive a boost in Goa. Mariculture involves the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in an enclosed section of the sea such as cages/pens, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled with saline water. The state government has formulated a leasing policy to introduce systematic management strategies both for conservation and sustained fish production. The aim is to encourage artisanal fishers to take up offshore open sea cage culture so that they shift from capture fisheries regime to culture fisheries regime. Goa State Mariculture Policy, 2020 is available at: https://indianlegal.demo2.icsf.net/images/resources/externalNews/docs/legal_india/documents/04993865.pdf
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