MARGAO
Asserting that over exploitation of fish along the coastal zone is indeed an area of concern, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday offered red carpet welcome for aquaculture fishing in the State, with a plea to the stakeholders who have a success story in Andhra Pradesh to pass on the knowledge to the farmers in Goa to boost production.
Speaking after inaugurating the 21st India International Seafood Show here on Saturday organised by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and the Seafood Export Association of India (SEAI), the Chief Minister further said that his government has been carefully monitoring over exploitation of fish, pointing out that the Fisheries department has banned fishing with LED lights.
“Over exploitation of fish in the zone where breeding takes place is an area of concern. This area needs to be carefully monitored. We have already banned fishing with LED lights. But, I would welcome aquaculture white shrimp in the State. This is an area where Andhra Pradesh has mustered the art and technology after initial problems relating to ecology,” the Chief Minister said, while asking the stakeholders to pass the knowledge on aquaculture shrimp farming to Goa.
Expressing concern that the contribution of the country’s west coast to fish export has been minimum, Parrikar said India can become a power house for export, saying that doubling the current size of marine export is not a difficult proposition. “Besides over exploitation, the other area of concern is the use of chemical fertilisers, with the wash off flowing into the sea, resulting in dwindling fish breed because of the nitrogen level,” Parrikar said, adding that the coastline around the Andaman & Nicobar Islands should be tapped and exploited to enhance the fish catch.
In his address, Agriculture Minister Vijai Sardesai mooted the idea of integrated farming to boost the incomes of the farmers. “Integrated farming means bringing all activities such as agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries so as to boost the income of the farmers,” Sardesai said.
Saying that Goa is one of the first state to ban fishing with LED lights, the Agriculture Minister said the State is facing new challenges in the fishing sector with the sea catch pegged at only 30 per cent and aquaculture farming at 70 per cent.
Fisheries Minister Vinoda Paliencar said the government has formed the Goa Fisheries Cooperation to explore the possibility of selling fish at cheap rates. “Goa has banned fishing with LED lights. The State follows in both letter and spirit the two-month ban on fishing during the monsoon,” he said.
MPEDA Chairman Dr A Jayathilak pointed out that aquaculture farming has shown good promise with the exports growing at a fast pace to countries such as the USA and European Union. “We have set a business target of $6 billion in the coming financial year.”
Goa unit president of SEAI Maulana Ibrahim thanked the Goa government for making available the required infrastructure at the SAG grounds to host the International Seafood Show in Goa for the second time in the last 15 years.
