Advocating that fish, being rich in protein, can help reduce malnutrition in the country, Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that the health experts and nutritionists must promote fish as a diet and that it can help improve the immunity among people during the pandemic.
Addressing the scientists and staff at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) here on Monday, the Vice-President called upon the health experts and nutritionists to bring awareness among the common people to include fish in their diet.
“Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acid, which is necessary for our body and good for cardiovascular health. This aspect needs to be promoted and conveyed to the common man. India has a long coastline of 8,000 km.
Marine resources
The country is endowed with a diversity of fish resources that have been supporting the livelihoods of millions of people for generations,” he said.
The Vice-President said that India ranked second in the world in marine resources with a production of 13.75 million metric tonnes. If the fish resources of rivers, lakes and tanks are included, it would go up to 22 million metric tonnes, he said.
“The fisheries sector is providing employment to nearly 15 million people on the Indian coast. India is the fourth largest exporter of fish in the world and the sector is one of the major contributors of foreign exchange earnings,” said Mr. Naidu and added that India should aspire to become number one in fish exports.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu also advocated for bridging the gap in demand and supply of the annual fish production in India.
Marine fish culture
Mr. Naidu opined that capture fisheries and deep-sea fishing alone can could not meet the demand and marine fish culture was the way forward.
Stating that over 8,000 km of coastline offers immense potential for the development of mariculture, the Vice-President said cage farming was widely recognised as the most important technology for increasing fish production.
He called for improving value-addition to fish, by maintaining the highest quality, consistency and reliability by better grading, quality assurance, and packaging of products. Earlier, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu visited the museums of the CMFRI and the CIFT and complimented both institutions for their excellent work in the fisheries sector.
Minister of Tourism Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao, Collector V. Vinay Chand, Director of ICAR-CMFRI A. Gopalakrishnan, Scientists R. Raghu Prakash and K. Muraleedharan spoke on the occasion. ICAR-CMFRI head Subhadeep Ghosh, scientists and staff of CMFRI and CIFT were among the dignitaries who attended the event.