Blue economy, a topic to reckon with now in State and Union Budgets, gains significance after fishermen reported alarming presence of plastic waste off Vizhinjam and Shanghumughom coasts, according to Minister for Fisheries J. Mercykutty Amma.
She was addressing a gathering on Tuesday after inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Blue economy: fostering sustainable development,’ organised by the Zoology Department of the Fatima Mata National College.
On maintaining marine ecology intact, she said human beings had a big role to play in ensuring a garbage-free ocean. All water resources should be kept healthy through sustainable use. Protection of the sea and the sea bed was vital in this connection, and the first step towards this was to ensure a clean sea.
“The ocean is a vast resource of wealth for all forms of life. But its continuation as such a form of wealth depends upon how human beings protect it,” she said.
The Minister also said, even while ensuring the ecological health of oceans, moves should be made to change marine fishing in such a way that priority was given to native fishermen.
She also wanted prominence to be given aquaculture. Kerala, she felt, was alarmingly lagging behind in aquaculture despite the State having plenty of water resources suitable for the purpose. Andhra Pradesh, which stood first in the field, achieved excellence in aquaculture through the creation of artificial water sources, she said.