Draft National Policy on Mariculture 2018
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Draft National Mariculture Policy is a useful guide to the subject, and in particular how mariculture farming will be established in India in the coming years. Centre's decision to set up a separate fisheries department and extend low-cost loans to the fisheries sector can be seen as a helping hand for mariculture, which is at the point of taking off.
Mariculture is fisheries' most promising growth sector
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India’s fish consumption will grow from 10 million to 18 million tonnes by 2030. India will have to concentrate more on mariculture as the catch from open seas is declining.
Draft National Mariculture Policy aims to ensure sustainable farmed seafood production for food and nutritional security and to provide additional livelihood options to coastal communities. However, traditional fishermen fear the policy: “The objective of the policy is to ensure socio-economic uplift of fishermen. However, as it needs huge investment the local fisherman community will not be able to reap the benefit. This will lead to the entry of big players and increase conflict in the sea“.
State-level discussion on mariculture (Kerala)
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Till now there are no restrictions on fishermen in catching fish from the open sea. However, the introduction of demarcated mariculture zones will restrict their movement and lead to conflict. The technology and investment needed for mariculture are very high and fishermen will not be able to afford it. Kerala coast is highly volatile and turbulent, so setting up mariculture cages in the coastal sea will be a challenge.
A member of the committee that prepared the Draft National Mariculture Policy, explains the situation. He said the CMFRI has already introduced cage farming in Visakhapatnam, Mandapam, Tirunelveli, Chennai and Veraval.
"Our policy permits farms to be set up within 0 to 12 nautical miles from the shore, which has 8,118 sq km of sea. If we use just 1% of this area for mariculture, we can start farming in 82 sq km. One cage with 6 m diameter will need 100 sqm space, so we can install 0.82 million cages in this area. One cage can provide 3 tonnes of fish a year, so total production can be 2.5 million tonnes, ” he said.
It is for the state government to identify demarcated zones and lease out the zones. “The challenges are in ensuring protection to farms. Kerala will have to bring in amendments to the Kerala Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Act to facilitate cage farming at sea. To avoid conflict, the authorities will have to identify areas where cages can be installed".
The state government should engage cooperative societies of fishermen for open sea cage farming. “If private players enter the field it will lead to conflicts and loss of livelihood for fishermen. Already the coastal community is in distress as marine resources are declining and the Coastal Regulation Zone restrictions are displacing them from the coastal areas”.
======================================
Draft National Mariculture Policy is a useful guide to the subject, and in particular how mariculture farming will be established in India in the coming years. Centre's decision to set up a separate fisheries department and extend low-cost loans to the fisheries sector can be seen as a helping hand for mariculture, which is at the point of taking off.
Mariculture is fisheries' most promising growth sector
==============================
India’s fish consumption will grow from 10 million to 18 million tonnes by 2030. India will have to concentrate more on mariculture as the catch from open seas is declining.
Draft National Mariculture Policy aims to ensure sustainable farmed seafood production for food and nutritional security and to provide additional livelihood options to coastal communities. However, traditional fishermen fear the policy: “The objective of the policy is to ensure socio-economic uplift of fishermen. However, as it needs huge investment the local fisherman community will not be able to reap the benefit. This will lead to the entry of big players and increase conflict in the sea“.
State-level discussion on mariculture (Kerala)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Till now there are no restrictions on fishermen in catching fish from the open sea. However, the introduction of demarcated mariculture zones will restrict their movement and lead to conflict. The technology and investment needed for mariculture are very high and fishermen will not be able to afford it. Kerala coast is highly volatile and turbulent, so setting up mariculture cages in the coastal sea will be a challenge.
A member of the committee that prepared the Draft National Mariculture Policy, explains the situation. He said the CMFRI has already introduced cage farming in Visakhapatnam, Mandapam, Tirunelveli, Chennai and Veraval.
"Our policy permits farms to be set up within 0 to 12 nautical miles from the shore, which has 8,118 sq km of sea. If we use just 1% of this area for mariculture, we can start farming in 82 sq km. One cage with 6 m diameter will need 100 sqm space, so we can install 0.82 million cages in this area. One cage can provide 3 tonnes of fish a year, so total production can be 2.5 million tonnes, ” he said.
It is for the state government to identify demarcated zones and lease out the zones. “The challenges are in ensuring protection to farms. Kerala will have to bring in amendments to the Kerala Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Act to facilitate cage farming at sea. To avoid conflict, the authorities will have to identify areas where cages can be installed".
The state government should engage cooperative societies of fishermen for open sea cage farming. “If private players enter the field it will lead to conflicts and loss of livelihood for fishermen. Already the coastal community is in distress as marine resources are declining and the Coastal Regulation Zone restrictions are displacing them from the coastal areas”.
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- Year Prod' LN Grow' (LN) Grow' pa
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2005 63.04 0.000
2006 65.7 0.041 4.13% 4.22%
2007 68.7 0.086 4.47% 4.57%
2008 71.21 0.122 3.59% 3.65%
2009 76.16 0.189 6.72% 6.95%
2010 78.52 0.220 3.05% 3.10%
2011 82.31 0.267 4.71% 4.83%
2012 86.66 0.318 5.15% 5.28%
2013 90.4 0.360 4.23% 4.32%
2014 95.72 0.418 5.72% 5.88%
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
2015 102.51 0.486 6.85% 7.09%
2016 107.62 0.535 4.86% 4.98%
2017 114.09 0.593 5.84% 6.01%
2018 126.06# 0.693 9.98% 10.49%
(# estimated)
REPLY 1w - Fisheries initiatives started btw 2016 - 2018
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Given the potential for fisheries in aquaculture, inland fisheries, coastal & marine fisheries and exports, GOI has introduced 2 schemes:
1) "Blue Revolution Scheme” for the overall development of the fisheries sector, eg.
-- production and productivity improvements
-- promotion of effective deep sea fishing
-- promotion of inland reservoir cage fishing
-- promotion of pond & brackish water aquaculture
-- quality, disease-free seeds production
-- development of value chains
-- impact livelihood of the fishers & welfare of fishermen
(see my link below on blue revolution)
2) FIDF or Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (Rs.7,522cr) for filling infrastructure gaps, by developing
-- fishing harbours or fish landing centres
-- fish seed farms, fish feed mills/plants
-- disease diagnostic & aquatic quarantine facilities
-- cold chains facilities like ice plants, cold storage, fish transport facilities
-- fish processing units, fish markets, etc.
REPLY 4w - Inland freshwater caged fish farming, on its own, can expand fish production manifold in a short time, perhaps enough to add 4-5 million tonnes by 2020!! Mariculture is another avenue for caged fish farming, but with marine species and on a much larger scale.
There are probably many unexploited ponds and brackish water sites (ie floodplains), but land for expansion has become an issue in some states. The author sees immense potential to scale up production in medium to large freshwater reservoirs, that are plentiful, under-exploited and well dispersed in the country. Under traditional capture fishing, yields are low at about 82Kg/ha, but these can be significantly improved with caged fish farming. Good practice booklet is available, titled ‘Guidelines for Cage culture in Inland Open water bodies of India’.
Cage Culture – the future of Fisheries-----------------------------------------------
Enhancing the fish production from the brackish and marine waters as also the fresh waters will call for major technological interventions. Since the government is very keen that we should achieve an additional production of 5 million tonnes by the end of 2020, grounding appropriate technologies become more imperative.
Optimal utilization of the already developed technologies is also a case worthy of serious scrutiny. Several useful technologies are languishing in the laboratories. It is in this context that we examine one such technology that has the potential for expanding our production base manifold in a short time. Cage culture, to my mind, is the future of Indian fisheries, for several reasons. I will list some of these:
1. Land availability is a constraint in most states so, to keep digging more ponds for fish production will not be that easy. Barring some hilly states and a few states of the North-
Eastern region, most of our states cannot afford to earmark a lot of land for fisheries purposes. Most of the productive land is under agriculture or horticulture and diverting such productive lands for fisheries is generally not seen as a wise choice given the constraints of food security.
For such states, cage culture could be a worthy option to consider. And, we have a large number of freshwater reservoirs in the country, mostly unutilized from fisheries point of view.
India has 3.15 million hectares of reservoirs and more than 5 lakh hectares of flood plain wetlands, spread across the numerous river basins in the country. The yield from the reservoirs is low, to the extent of about 82Kg/ha.
The NFDB’s experience of stocking the small reservoirs of the country has been reasonably successful, but that would not be sufficient to make a big difference to the fishery basket of the country.
So, it will be necessary for us to focus on the medium and large reservoirs and a quick and good way to enhance fish production several times over will be optimally harnessing the vast freshwater resources of these reservoirs, located almost all over the country.
I should be happy to inform the esteemed readers that the NFDB’s initial investments in Jharkhand in sanctioning a few cages for a few of their reservoirs have confirmed the enormous potential the technology has to increase the freshwater fish production in the country. Several other states are following suit.
How do we go about establishing the cage culture in the country? What shall it be organised, and what ought to be the guidelines that we conform to? Unplanned expansion of cage culture could have disastrous consequences to the fragile ecosystem of the reservoirs. So, there is a felt need to create a framework or a set of guidelines that all the stakeholders would have to adhere to.
A national level committee to develop guidelines for cage culture in inland open waters was constituted by the NFDB, in April 2016 with a mandate to:
(a) To assess the potential of cage culture system to contribute to increased production
(b) To assess the possible environmental and socio-economic impact
(c) To suggest precautions to be taken and
(d) To suggest the modes of propagating and scaling up of this technology to optimize benefits in a sustainable manner.
The committee had met several times and drafted a comprehensive set of guidelines that were vetted by experts and released as ‘Guidelines for Cage culture in Inland Open water bodies of India’. The guidelines are hosted on the nfdb.gov.in website for use by the public at large.
The guidelines cover several aspects of cage culture, the material required and the process of maintenance, species selection, stocking density, environmental precaution and impact assessment and issues relating to the governance, etc. There are, of course, other social concerns, relating to the ownership, beneficiaries and governance. Since reservoir based cage culture is practised in common property resources, the critical question will be the one relating to who can set up and own the cages in a reservoir.
Almost all the large and medium reservoirs in the country are owned by the government or government agencies and fishers have been using these water bodies with free access. So, protecting the interests of the fishermen is of as much importance as it is, of enhancing fish production. It should also be noted that livelihoods of several poor people depend upon catching fish from the reservoirs. Further, in certain cases, several people ousted due to the establishment of the reservoirs need to be also rehabilitated in order to ensure that their livelihoods are restored.
Therefore, in the cage culture guidelines, this aspect has been very carefully and sensitively considered. Likewise, the governance structure should be based on co-management principles and should be the central philosophy for any intervention through cage culture in reservoirs.
Mariculture----------------
That brings us to the marine cage culture systems. The CMFRI has already successfully demonstrated the utility of cage culture systems for species like Cobia and Silver Pompano. They will need to develop the brood banks and hatchery infrastructure on the coastline, so the interested fishermen can form the SHGs and undertake the cage culture of Cobia and Silver Pompano.
NFDB is actively considering the proposals of the CMFRI and several maritime states so the marine cage culture also contributes to the fish production in the country through an intensified system.
On balance, it can be concluded that cage culture in inland open waters, as well as marine waters, is going to emerge as a fast-growing activity and a money spinner. Treading the cage culture path will not just call for technical expertise, but also sensitive and environmentally conscious decision-making. I see a great future for cage culture in the country.
nfdb.gov.in - National Fisheries Development Board
REPLY 4w - Write-up on Blue Revolution (2016)
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Govt's action plan for Blue Revolution has Quality Production Management, meaning deliverable goals, timelines and costs. All the key components are properly addressed (see link 2 & 3).
Deep sea fishing - gets a major push
* Inadequately exploited EEZ. Fishery Survey of India for EEZ surveys and officer training, to be expanded and upgraded.
* Fishing in high seas can increase the catch by ten times (see link 4). Deepwater prawns and squids found ( link 5).
* Early warning facilities and coastal disaster proofing for natural calamities.
* Onshore fisheries stations, cold chains, marketing facilities, upgraded logistics.
* Grants for housing and community infra.
* Financial support for large trawlers, conversions, upgrade in technologies.
* IT & Satcom, GPS tracking, eco-sonar and rescue beacon.
* Skills training. Insurance cover. Assistance during the ban period.
* Compulsory registration, enforced bans to improve stocks. Greater role for coast guards in security, policing and rescue.
Caged fishing - a revolution in itself
* Huge unexplored regions and under-exploited water bodies.
* Landing centres, cold chains, ice makers, driers, hygienic marketing facilities and allied industries are being created.
* Low-cost hatcheries or fish seed farms in JV with private sector.
* Subsidized equipment and low-cost finance.
* To improve species mix, apply scientific practices and better support (training, demonstration, advice).
* Area mapped for salt marshes, estuaries, waterlogged land, ponds, tanks, canals besides lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, large marine bays.
* Marine caged fisheries around the coast and sheltered bays.
* Brackish wetlands, water-logged areas, estuaries totalling 1.4 m Ha has been identified. Unused area (89% of total) were ear-marked for shrimps or mud crabs.
* Large freshwater bodies can support marine-styled caged fisheries.
* Hilly cold waters, ponds, tanks, paddy fields, streams and irrigation canals are being improved, developed and/ or exploited.
* Fingerlings can be breed from pathogen-free fry in situ, to improve availability and reduce transit losses (see Jharkhand).
* Standard practice adopted should include: regular cleaning, feeding, disposal of dead fish; checks on fry size, health (reaction to feeding) to segregate weaker growing fry and transfer well-sized fingerling to separate cages or large water bodies.
Reference: http://pubs.iclarm.net/resource_centre/WF_2496.pdf
Mariculture - endless possibilities
* Good variety, markets for species incl. exports.
* High productivity in a limited area (e.g. 35 kg/m3), good profitability.
* Enormous capacity to scale up ( i.e. cage size, nos of cages in a farm, nos of farms in a cluster; so, 1 cluster of 5 farms, each farm has 50 cages).
* Secluded sites ideal like lagoons, bays. Floating cages withstand higher depths, winds and waves. Submersible and deep-sea cluster possible.
* Endemic species of fish preferred, suited to water conditions, temps, salinity, oxygen and pollution; and likely fluctuations of same. Fish eg. cobia, bass, grouper, snappers, mullets, lobsters.
* Mixed culture like mussels (seeded ropes) and seaweed useful; short season culture can be done during fishing bans.
* (My input: smart monitoring or automation will take mariculture to the next level).
http://www.incois.gov.in/documents/ITCOocean/Mariculturesociety.pdf
Efforts in individual states
Maharashtra:
MH offers investors 4000 ha or 1% reservoir/dams for high-density caged fishing, ie 5 to 7k fingerlings/ cage or yield of 5 tonnes. Fish feed availability, skill development and all clearances pre-arranged. Real-time monitoring proposed for water and fish (weight, nutrients, size). Fish such as tilapia, pangasius, basa, Asian bass, shrimps (see link 6). Also promotes inland brackish waters (shrimp) and marine sites. Revenue upward of Rs 2000 crore expected from dams. Dredging can yield high nutrient soil (see link 7).
Jharkhand
Huge scope to grow fish farming. Pond fishing (Matasya Mitra) has been very successful, so more are being dug. It expects to scale up caged farming in reservoirs, from 2100 cages to 5000 cages / 20,000 MT in FY18 (see link 8). 50k fry (3g) are added to each cage. Fish such as pangasius, rohu and katla.
Kerala:
Calm waters off Kerala (and W KA) are good for deep sea cage farming, sized 13m dia X 30m deep (!). Expected to produce 90 tonnes/ cage (!!) of cobia, pompano, grouper and sea bass (see link 9).
Telangana
Surge in growth of f/w fish and prawns (2010/11 to 2014/15, total @18%pa& prawns @ 40%pa) (see link 10). Cage fishing for breeding fingerlings started in 6 major reservoirs; 2 x 6 cages each. Following others, intends to scale up rapidly. Moving water of reservoirs washes nitrate/ nitrite pollution making it ideal for intensive rearing (see link 11).
See others at:
http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/vars/country/in/
REPLY 4w - Draft National Policy on Mariculture 2018
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INCOMPLETE
Guidelines from Centre and State deal with respective jurisdictions.---------------------------------------------------------------
Central govt has mandate for fisheries in EEZ btw 12 to 200 nm. This is also where a significant portion of mariculture will happen. Centre is fully responsible for A&N and Lakshadweep islands and has made mariculture a key to developing these islands, along with tourism and capture fisheries.
States have powers to make laws, pertaining to land, fisheries and water under Sec 21 of Indian Constitution, up to 12 nautical miles. However, Centre governs the legal framework on environment and biodiversity which exercises certain powers to regulate State's coastal activities. For example, Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act 2005 regulates coastal aquaculture. Then there are mutually agreed national and global protocols (eg sustainable development goals, global good practice, etc.) that must be followed by all States.
Centre will develop guidelines for EEZ mariculture and develop a model Bill for States/ UT for coastal mariculture. States can incorporate aspects of these guidelines into their Aquaculture Act. Centre will modify existing regulations or Acts pertaining to A&N and Lakshadweep islands.
Institutional framework: efforts to promote, coordinate and enable mariculture------------------------------
Huge resources must be mobilised for mariculture, as mariculture will become a major undertaking for food security. Implementing agencies will be set up for coordinating between States/ UTs and Centre, and for steering rapid expansion and meeting production targets. Investment must be made in infrastructure and manpower (eg to incentivise & train farmers).
Tasks to be performed:
1. Many agencies of Centre, States, NGOs must ensure legislation is synchronised for the promotion of mariculture.
2, Guidelines to establish institutional arrangements for flows of benefits to those that bearing costs and manage activities (eg environment reports).
3. Effective monitoring and control of mariculture will be required. Control is important for regulating mariculture, eg ecological and social concerns, safety (eg mariculture vests).
4. Expertise must be acquired. Many institutions can be involved, eg M of Science and Technology and M of Earth Sciences. Experience of undertaking a major expansion in fisheries will be sought, and close coordination of agencies will be necessary.
5. Engineering aspects must be understood and readied -- eg. large scale mooring systems, durable yet low-cost cages, mapping of suitable sites, phasing for expansion.
6. Universities and ICAR research institutes will work on productivity enhancements.
7. Environment Impact Assessments models must be developed -- for example, diagnostic and testing regimes for species health will be devised and incorporated in EIA studies.
8. Financial institutions will work with national agencies to design financial packages for the expansion of mariculture.
Marketing support
🍡 Efficient logistics to minimize post-harvest losses and preservation of food.
🍡 Processing capacity in exporting units with value additions incl freezing.
🍡 Institutional support for the development of domestic market infrastructure, eg hygiene handling, processing and cold storage.
🍡 Preservation and package to be done through PPP
🍡 Normal marketing activities like branding, certification, gathering market intelligence.
🍡 Encourage full use of institutional channels and online marketplace to reduce the role of middleman.
🍡 Increase domestic consumption of all product of fishing eg bivalves and seaweeds.
REPLY 4w
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