October 16, 2023

Mariculture parks along coastal districts could drive India's fish production, according to proposal

India's ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has proposed that mariculture parks be set up across coastal districts in the country to enhance fish production and meet growing demand for food and nutrition in the coming years.

The proposal was presented at a discussion held on the transformation of food systems based on aquaculture and fisheries at the 16th Agricultural Science Congress (ASC) held in India.

According to CMFRI, mariculture parks can be set up in coastal districts where suitable sites have been identified for such activities, including marine cage fish farming and seaweed farming, an official statement said on October 13.

CMFRI has identified 46,823.2 hectares of suitable sites for marine cage fish farming along Indian territorial waters and 333 prospective seaweed farming sites covering 23,950 hectares, a presentation made the at the ASC said. The top three coastal states with the maximum area suitable for sea cage farming are Andhra Pradesh (11,792 hectares), Gujarat (11,572.2 hectares), and Tamil Nadu (7,673 hectares), it added.

Scientists hold the view that the parks will help avoid the scattered and unplanned expansion of sea farming, which can lead to disruption of the ecosystem, user conflicts and other social issues.

The CMFRI has developed indigenous mariculture technologies for offshore and nearshore cage fish farming, bivalve farming, seaweed farming, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture practice and a combined farming practice using either seaweed or bivalve with cage fish farming.

- Devdiscourse