Earlier this week, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) celebrated the National Fish Farmer’s Day with a two-day fish festival at the YMCA Complex, Beach Road. N John Samuel, Consultant at NFDB, who was managing the fest said, “We got an overwhelming response, at least two tonnes of fish meat were consumed in eight to ten hours.”
People thronged the stalls and each one had a lingering fear that the stock might run out before their turn. There were five stalls set up by the local cooperative societies, local restaurants and Bengal’s State Fisheries Development Corporation. All the stalls were equally popular, with the highlights being fillet fish, fish fry and fish biryani. Fish enthusiasts of the city came with their family for a feast. Ram Bahadur, a former marine officer said, “People used to prefer sea fish because freshwater fish maybe genetically modified. But even the sea isn’t safe from pollution. As a result, people have started looking into aquaculture.”
Apart from the food festival that was hosted to promote freshwater fishes, there was also an exhibition which displayed processed consumables and other value-addition products.
A slice of history
Apart from the Green Revolution and White Revolution, the country has also witnessed what is called the Blue Revolution which aims to tap the full potential of our waters for fisheries.
As per the NFDB, after the World War II, India was addressing both a food and protein deficit. During this phase, fish culture got a boost and as a result, the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) was set up in 1947. The dawn of the blue revolution started with the development of seed production technology through induced breeding by Professor Hiralal Chaudhuri at the Pond Culture Division’ of CIFRI at Cuttack, Odisha in 1957. As a result, Indian fisheries jumped from 0.75 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 9.58 million tonnes in 2013-14. Since 2001, the Government of India celebrates National Fish Farmer's Day on July 10 to support the fisher folks across the nation.
Ground reality
As per the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, in 2014, two-thirds of India’s fish production was inland. The NFBD states that India’s global production is third in fisheries and second in aquaculture. But these are still early stages of the blue revolution and much needs improvement if fisheries have to be sustainable in the long run.
A report by the State Agency for Enterprising, Netherlands identifies Andhra Pradesh as the aquaculture state of India. According to it more hatcheries, modern techniques and effective management can help it reach its its full potential. Bhimavaram and Visakhapatnam hatcheries breed mainly Vannamei shrimp, but also produce small quantities of rohu, tilapia, bas and catla. They are mostly exported to West Bengal due to local demand in the State.
But the bigger picture was to spread awareness about market opportunities for the fish farmers who can become entrepreneurs. I Rani Kumadini, Chief Executive, NFDB said, “It’s important to encourage small scale fish entrepreneurs. While infrastructure development is a priority, we are focusing on marketing and branding of aquaculture so that a demand is also generated.”
