A big investor meeting is being organized today (14 November) to promote aquaculture in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. During this meeting, the main focus will be on tuna fishing and its processing. Seaweed and fish storage and its use in the sea border there will also be discussed.
Shrimp farming is growing rapidly in the country. If we go by the latest figures, shrimp production in the country has crossed 11 lakh tonnes. Shrimp is exported the most. But due to high production costs, there is a problem in selling it in the international market. Shrimp farming is completely dependent on L. vannamei. This is an American seed. But the good thing is that now seeds are being prepared for shrimp in India as well. Desi seed is being prepared in the breeding center.
Fisheries Secretary Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi visited one such breeding center on Wednesday. Along with this, he also gave special instructions to the officials present there to supply both brooders and seeds. According to shrimp experts, currently, most of the states in the country get seeds from shrimp hatcheries in Andhra Pradesh.
Shrimp seed will be supplied from Kolaghat.
On Tuesday, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi visited the Nucleus Breeding Center (NBC) of Penaeus Monodon established by the Rajiv Gandhi Center for Aquaculture (RGCA) in Kodiaghat during his Andaman tour. The purpose of this center is to supply Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) brood and seed, especially for shrimp. On this occasion, he gave necessary instructions to the officials of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and RGCA to supply SPF P Monodon brooders and seeds to the hatcheries.
There is a lot of potential for fisheries in the EEZ.
Dr. Likhi says that there is a lot of potential for fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Andaman and Nicobar Islands have huge fisheries resources with a long coastline and vast EEZ of India. The estimated annual fisheries potential of Andaman and Nicobar Islands is about 1.48 lakh tonnes. Out of this, only 49 thousand tonnes have been produced so far.
Not only this, there is a lot of scope for setting up fisheries centers including tuna fish farming, seaweed, and ornamental fish farming in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Therefore, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, Government of India, visited the fisheries-related activities in the islands and also interacted with scientists, government officials, entrepreneurs, fishermen, fish sellers.
Also visited Junglighat Fish Market-Landing Center
Dr. Likhi also visited Junglighat Fish Market. This market was established under the Blue Revolution Scheme. On this occasion, he interacted with the local fish sellers and understood their challenges. Find ways to improve fish marketing and management. He inquired about the quantity and variety of fish available in this market and also asked about the ways to improve its maintenance.
During this, Dr. Likhi also visited the Junglighat fish landing center. He interacted in depth with the fishermen about their current fishing practices, the variety of fish caught, their economics, the facility present in the landing center, and current operational challenges. The fishermen discussed issues like dredging, water facility, ice plant, diesel subsidy, etc., and requested to resolve them.