Covid may become a game-changer for fisheries sector in country: V-P

VISAKHAPATNAM: COVID-19 may prove to be a game-changer for India’s fisheries sector as the pandemic has made people conscious of adopting healthy dietary habits, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu said here on Monday. Addressing scientists and staff at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIF T) here, the Vice-President said the fish is a great source of protein and holds the key for reducing malnutrition in the country, especially in children. This was the vice President’s first in-person visit to any scientific institution since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He emphasised the need for diversification of mariculture through innovative products such as nutraceuticals and ornamental fish. On the occasion, the Vice- President called upon health experts and nutritionists to bring awareness among common man about the benefits of including fish in their diet. Venkaiah Naidu said India is the 4th largest exporter of fish in the world and the sector has been one of the major contributors of foreign exchange earnings.

India should aspire to become number one in export of fish, he opined. He called for bridging the gap in demand and supply of the annual fish production in India. The cage farming was widely recognied as the most important technology in mariculture for increasing fish production, he said. He lauded CMFRI and CIF T for good work in this regard and said that much more needs to be done. He also stressed the need to improve value-addition to fish, by better grading, qual i ty as surance and packaging.

He wanted municipal bodies to take special interest in creating clean and attractive fish markets. Expressing concern over water pollution, the Vice-President said discarded plastics, other residual waste and industrial chemicals eventually find their way into the water bodies, leading to devastating consequences for aquatic life. The Vice-President appreciated the Centre for implementing many schemes for the fisheries sector such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.