June 21, 2022

 

Farmers call on government of Kerala state, India to regulate its aquaculture sector

 

Aquaculture farmers in Kerala state, India have urged their state government to intervene to regulate its aquaculture sector so farmers receive remunerative prices for their produce and that fair practises are followed, Fish Information & Services reported.

 

According to the Kerala Fish Farmers' Association, the state has approximately 12,000 registered fish farmers, as well as others who practise fish farming without a licence.

 

Reji Poothara, a fish farmer and former president of the association, said some farmers fed their fish slaughterhouse and poultry waste, while others relied solely on market-available fish feed.

 

Poothara, who has been cultivating genetically improved farmed tilapia and other fishes, said there were differences in the cost of production between the two methods.

 

Dr K K. Vijayan, former director of the ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture in Chennai, said Kerala's aquaculture potential was being underutilised.

 

He said the state needed commercial grade hatcheries and commercial feed mills to produce quality formulated feeds and commercial grade hatcheries to produce quality seeds of commercially important fishes.

 

He also said it would encourage more farmers and entrepreneurs to enter the field because aquaculture is a great way to generate employment and income for people, adding that aquaculture requires a public-private partnership.

 

Dr Vijayan said states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, were far ahead of Kerala in terms of aquaculture, particularly shrimp production.

 

He believes the state should take serious steps to encourage and support aquaculture by utilising its vast aquatic resources. He claimed that while the country's total aquaculture production was over a million tonnes, Kerala's production was only around 50,000 tonnes.

 

Thomas Abraham, an aqua farmer in Pathanamthitta district, said the availability of feed and fish seeds is a major issue. Farmers who fed fish with waste materials were able to sell their produce at much lower prices than those who fed fish with approved feed materials.

 

-      Fish Information & Services