Hyderabad: Indian Aquaculture is steadily progressing over the past few decades. In India, freshwater fish farming started even before national highways were built. The contribution of farmers, industrialists and first-wave aqua scientists combined with government incentives furthered the aqua progress.
Kolleru river basin in Andhra Pradesh is the biggest freshwater aquafarming industry in the country. Aquaculture is the only industry which employs 25 people per hectare compared to agriculture and its related industries. Though the industry is flourishing, there are umpteen challenges like lack of remunerative prices, shortage of ice and insufficient cold storage facilities. All these drawbacks are causing a 10 per cent loss in overall produce.
Quality seed is of utmost importance in fish and prawn cultivation. Though several guidelines have been formulated for fish seed development and certification, implementation is lacklustre.
A fish fry production centre had been established in Tenali, Guntur district under the guidance of Department of Fisheries. It is said that the entire department salaries were paid with the profits from this centre. The business in this centre exceeded that of West Bengal also with the entry of private entrepreneurs.
In the fish farming centre in Tungabhadra basin jointly run by Karnataka government and Department of Fisheries, quality seed is produced. While the cost of one lakh eggs in Karnataka centre is priced at Rs.1,000, the Andhra Pradesh centre is selling the same quantity for Rs.200. Karnataka government gets Rs.40 lakhs income from the Tungabhadra centre alone. Aspiring entrepreneurs will venture only into profitable businesses.
Currently, fish produce is the highest in two places. One is in the Ganga basin of West Bengal and the other is in the Krishna-Godavari basin of Kolleru, Andhra Pradesh. 40-80 per cent of the produce from these two places is being transported to other states. Though the supply chain is huge, there are several issues.
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Regional fish varieties like Katla, Rohu and Carp breed only twice a year. Brood stock must be reared under favorable conditions to get quality seed. National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) priced the length of 100 mm at Rs.1 in 2007 and increased it to Rs.2.50 in 2014 as suggested by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA).
Though the labor wages, prices of feed and lease have increased manifold, the produce in Fisheries Department of Andhra Pradesh is being sold according to the 1999 pricing.
There is an urgent need to tackle the issues aqua farming has been facing. Godavari water must be simultaneously released to fish farms and nursery ponds. West Bengal is achieving high fish produce by utilizing this method. Though Andhra Pradesh ranks first in fish produce, West Bengal is most preferred due to the seed quality. Since aqua produce cannot be stored, farmers are inevitably selling their crop for lower prices.
Government must take the initiative and set up a trust for remunerative pricing. Brood stock society must be aligned with Panchayat and Irrigation departments so that fisheries department officials can supply quality seed to the farmers. Fisheries department must enclose certification and receipt for purchase of fish seed. Aqua farmers will benefit if information about fish availability is updated on the internet. Lack of technological innovations, specially scarcity of experts to certify the quality of fish feed and water is another challenge. Fish farm workers are being substituted for actual experts. If students of fisheries science or related courses are given adequate training, the challenge can be overcome.
90 per cent of the total aqua produce in Andhra Pradesh is being supplied to other states. The newly formed Telangana state has made its mark in Blue Revolution. But the per capita fish consumption in Telugu states is relatively low, the main reason being an unhygienic image of fish market in people’s mind. If clean fish markets are established in major cities and towns, fish meat consumption can be increased. Local markets are not on par with consumer needs. Tidy conditions, lack of people who can cut and fillet a fish as per customer needs are the causes of unfavorable public perception of fish meat.
In big cities, people usually prefer to eat out or order food online. Local fisheries must take advantage of this situation and deliver seafood dishes in Cloud Kitchen mode. Seafood festivals can be conducted to create more marketing opportunities.
Indian aqua farmers are rearing regional varieties like Katla, Rohu and White Carp along with foreign varieties like Pangasius and Tilapia. Murrel and Pufferfish cultivation is also profitable. Incentives and subsidies must be given for prawn and fish cultivation to enable quality export. Hatchery-reared prawns must be provided along with fish seed so that aqua farmers will have financial security.
Fresh water reservoirs are prospering thanks to the recent rains. These water resources must be equally supplied to aqua farming to increase the aqua business in Telugu states thereby increasing employment and income.
