18/08/2016: A view on aquaculture development in India

by Dr B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer, India.
  

Dr B Laxmappa

India is the second largest producers of fish in the world, contributing 5.68 percent of global fish production. 

It is also a major producer of fish through aquaculture and ranks second in the world after China. India is an important producer of fish and shellfish through aquaculture globally, whilst also possessing a number of other flourishing sectors with vast resources and potential.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world with an annual growth of around seven per cent. India is the second largest producer of fish both in terms of production, and from aquaculture. Increasing demand for fish and fishery products would mostly be sourced from aquaculture and culture based captures fisheries in reservoirs as capture fisheries growth world over is stagnant.

  

 Presently, the country ranks second in the world in total fish production with an annual fish production of about 10.07 million metric tonnes. As the second largest country in aquaculture production (Table: 1), the share of inland fisheries and aquaculture has gone up from 46 percent in the 1980s to over 85 percent in recent years in total fish production.
  

Table 1: Top 5 aquaculture producers in 2010
(Source: FAO 2012)

The total aquaculture production of 4.64 million tonnes of which carp alone was responsible for the lions share (See Table 1). India's aquaculture production basically can be classified into freshwater, brackishwater and mariculture production. 

There are 429 Fish Farmers Development Agencies (FFDAs) and 39 Brackishwater Fish Farmers Development Agencies (BFDAs) besides huge number of Fishermen Cooperative Societies (FCS), private farmers for promoting freshwater and coastal aquaculture.

  

Table 2: Farmed species in Indian aquaculture

Some of the important species cultured in India are the Indian major carps, catfish, prawn and shrimp. Besides these, seabass, trout, tilapia fish culture, mud crab, clam and seaweed farming (Table: 2), are slowly gaining importance in the aquaculture scenario in the last few years as alternative livelihood supporting sectors as small-scale activities.

Aquaculture in India has evolved as a viable commercial farming practice from the level of traditionally backyard activity over last three decades with considerable diversification in terms of species and systems, and has been showing an impressive annual growth rate of 6-7 percent.

While the carp- based freshwater aquaculture contributing over 90 percent of the aquaculture production, thus satisfying the domestic need; with the shrimp-based coastal aquaculture contributes to the export earnings.


Read the full article HERE.

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