China's announcement that it would stop imports from several countries including India, starting June this year, is disappointing. The Indian seafood industry follows the highest quality and hygiene standards at all levels. China is our very important trade partner, and we hope that they realise and recognise the efforts we make, to ensure that the importing countries get our best products. Our list of importers includes many countries in the EU as well as the USA, who insist on the most stringent levels of inspection and quality specifications. The fact that we have consistently been on these countries' list of top exporters is proof of our quality credentials. Considering the fact that China was the largest market for Indian seafood exports last year, with 159,000 tonnes exported in 2011 (accounting for over 20 per cent of total seafood exports), this could be a severe setback. In value terms, exports to the Chinese market accounted for 15 per cent of the country's total export earnings. The Association is optimistic that the collective efforts of Indian exporters across various sectors, as well as the diplomatic initiatives at the government level would turn the situation around, bringing cheers to traders in both the countries. Seafood exporters are reeling under the impact of changes in procedure and documentation outlined by the various regulatory bodies and agencies, from time to time. Consequently, we are unable to compete with our Asian competitors like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, resulting in our products being marginalised in certain markets. The industry is optimistic of working out amicable and mutually beneficial solutions on various fronts. We hope that the Government of India considers our long-standing demand of exemption from Service Tax, on services rendered in India and utilized by exporters. Service tax exemption has been granted for contract labour bills, sales commission and all export related activities. SEAI has the opinion that, since Excise and Customs duties on exported goods are set off by mechanisms such as DEPB and duty drawback, it is essential to bring about such redemption schemes with regard to service tax as well, to make Indian exports internationally competitive. India's seafood exports are likely to reach US$ 4.7 billion by 2014. High value products like shrimp, squid, cuttlefish and crab mainly sustain the growth in exports. It is a fact that many of the species caught in Indian waters have absolutely no demand in the local market and are totally dependent on the international market. Hence, anything adversely affecting the industry will first hit the farmers and fishermen, who are at the lowest end in the chain. FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK 3
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
China's announcement that it would stop imports from several countries including India, starting June this
year, is disappointing. The Indian seafood industry follows the highest quality and hygiene standards at all
levels. China is our very important trade partner, and we hope that they realise and recognise the efforts we
make, to ensure that the importing countries get our best products. Our list of importers includes many
countries in the EU as well as the USA, who insist on the most stringent levels of inspection and quality
specifications. The fact that we have consistently been on these countries' list of top exporters is proof of our
quality credentials.
Considering the fact that China was the largest market for Indian seafood exports last year, with 159,000
tonnes exported in 2011 (accounting for over 20 per cent of total seafood exports), this could be a severe
setback. In value terms, exports to the Chinese market accounted for 15 per cent of the country's total export
earnings. The Association is optimistic that the collective efforts of Indian exporters across various sectors, as
well as the diplomatic initiatives at the government level would turn the situation around, bringing cheers to
traders in both the countries.
Seafood exporters are reeling under the impact of changes in procedure and documentation outlined by the
various regulatory bodies and agencies, from time to time. Consequently, we are unable to compete with our
Asian competitors like China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, resulting in our products being
marginalised in certain markets. The industry is optimistic of working out amicable and mutually beneficial
solutions on various fronts.
We hope that the Government of India considers our long-standing demand of exemption from Service Tax,
on services rendered in India and utilized by exporters. Service tax exemption has been granted for contract
labour bills, sales commission and all export related activities. SEAI has the opinion that, since Excise and
Customs duties on exported goods are set off by mechanisms such as DEPB and duty drawback, it is
essential to bring about such redemption schemes with regard to service tax as well, to make Indian exports
internationally competitive.
India's seafood exports are likely to reach US$ 4.7 billion by 2014. High value products like shrimp, squid,
cuttlefish and crab mainly sustain the growth in exports. It is a fact that many of the species caught in Indian
waters have absolutely no demand in the local market and are totally dependent on the international market.
Hence, anything adversely affecting the industry will first hit the farmers and fishermen, who are at the lowest
end in the chain.
FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
3
International Seafood Industry News
WTO PREDICTS TRADE GROWTH TO SLOW IN 2012
World trade expanded in 2011 by 5 percent, a sharp
deceleration from the 13.8 percent rise in 2010, and growth
will slow further to 3.7 percent in 2012, due to a number of
shocks, including the European soverign debt crisis, according
to a report released on 12th April by the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The WTO's projected 3.7 percent growth rate for world
merchandise trade in 2012 -- with 2 percent export growth
anticipated for developed economies and 5.6 percent for
developing economies -- is below the long-term average of 6
percent for 1990 to 2008, and down from the average of 5.5
percent over the last 20 years including the period of the
trade collapse. Economists figured out that downside risks
would include deeper recession in the Eurozone and rising
commodity prices.
The total dollar value of world merchandise exports
increased by 19 percent to 18.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2011,
which is a record, in spite of the fact that was driven in large
part by higher primary commodity prices, according to the
report. Commercial services exports also grew 11 percent in
2011 to 4.1 trillion U.S. dollars.
A significant braking of trade expansion had been forecast for
2011, but multiple economic setbacks during the year
dampened growth beyond expectations and led to a stronger
than anticipated easing in the fourth quarter.
"More than three years have passed since the trade collapse of
2008-09, but the world economy and trade remain fragile. The
further slowing of trade expected in 2012 shows that the
downside risks remain high. We are not year out of the wood,"
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said.
Statistics showed that the rate of world output growth fell to
2.4 percent in 2011 from 3.8 percent in the previous year,
weighed down by the ongoing sovereign debt crisis in Europe,
supply chain disruptions from natural disasters in Japan and
Thailand, and turmoil in Arab countries. This pace of
expansion was well below the 3.2 percent average over the 20
years leading up to the financial crisis in 2008. Fast growing
economies in 2011 include the Middle East, Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS), South-
Central America, China and four newly
industrialized economies (NIEs), namely
China's Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea,
Singapore and Chinese Taipei.
The present trade forecast assumes
global output growth of 2.1 percent in
2012 at market exchange rates, and there
are severe downside risks for growth that
could have even greater negative
consequences for trade if they came to
pass, including a steeper than expected
downturn in Europe, financial contagion
related to the sovereign debt crisis,
rapidly rising oil prices, and geopolitical
risks. The world imports growth also
dropped sharply in 2011 from the
previous year, down from 13.7 percent to
4.9 percent, according to the statistics.
Fastest growing imports include China
and India.
"The WTO has so far deterred economic
nationalism, but the sluggish pace of
recovery raises concerns that a steady
trickle of restrictive trade measures could
gradually undermine the benefits of trade
openness. WTO members should turn
their attention to revitalizing the trading
system and to ensuring such a scenario
does not materialize," Lamy said.
The report also forcasted the world trade
volume for 2013 is expected to recover
to 5.6 percent, based on assumptions
about the longer term trajectory of gross
domestic product (GDP), with exports of
developed and developing economies
increase by 4.1 percent and 7.2 percent,
and imports increase by 3.9 percent and
7.8 percent.
4
MACKEREL CERTIFICATES SUSPENDED BY CERTIFIERS
The certifiers for seven MSC certified mackerel fisheries in
the North East Atlantic ocean on 2nd April suspended the
fisheries’ certificates.
The suspension notice follows two years of catches above the
scientific advice as a result of a significant increase in the
amount of mackerel caught by countries outside the certified
fleets and the breakdown of international agreements and
negotiations aimed at managing the stock. In July 2010, the
certified fisheries were notified that – in order to maintain
their certification and ecolabel – total catches in the North
East Atlantic mackerel fishery would need to be brought back
under an internationally agreed management regime. This
included the catches from countries outside the certified
fleets. The deadline for implementing that notification expired
on 31st December 2011.
The suspension is not the same as a certificate withdrawal as
suspended certificates can be re-instated on completion of a
condition with no need for a new Full Assessment...
While the MSC certified fisheries have worked hard to reach
an international agreement on mackerel management, it
proved impossible to find a solution in time for the deadline.
As a result, in January the fisheries were given 90 days’ notice
that their certificates would be suspended at the end of March
2012. Any mackerel caught after 30th March is not eligible to
be labelled as ‘MSC certified’.
- Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation North East
Atlantic mackerel (DK)
- Irish Pelagic Sustainability Association western mackerel
(IE)
- Irish Pelagic Sustainability Group western mackerel
pelagic trawl fishery (IE)
- North East Atlantic mackerel pelagic trawl, purse seine
and handline fishery (NO)
- Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association North East Atlantic
Fisheries affected
mackerel (NL)
- Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group
North East Atlantic mackerel (UK)
- Swed i sh Pe l ag i c Producers
Organisation North East Atlantic
mackerel (SW)
Nicolas Guichoux, Europe Director of the
Marine Stewardship Council said: “While
the suspension of these MSC certificates
is disappointing for both the fisheries and
the MSC, there is a risk that the stock
would become depleted as a result of the
current TAC overshoot. I know that the
fisheries involved are making enormous
efforts to ensure that this does not
happen and the MSC will continue to
support these mackerel fisheries
throughout this difficult process. I look
forward to the reinstatement of their
certificates once an agreement has been
reached.”
The suspension is not the same as a
certificate withdrawal as suspended
certificates can be re-instated on
completion of a condition with no need
for a new Full Assessment of the fishery.
Suspension, not withdrawal
5
'MARSUNO' PILOT PROJECT DELIVERS FINAL RESULTS
Nine northern EU Member States plus Norway and Russia
have finalised a pilot project on Maritime Surveillance in the
Northern Sea Basins (MARSUNO) initiated by the European
Commission.
These partners make a number of recommendations for
overcoming the hurdles to creating a Common Information
Sharing Environment ('CISE') for the surveillance of the EU
maritime domain.
Commissioner Maria Damanaki welcomed the final report:
"Our objective is to ensure safer seas while saving costs. I
welcome the results of the MARSUNO project which has
demonstrated that data-sharing across borders and across
sectors like maritime transport, environmental protection,
customs, border guarding, fishery inspection, law enforcement
and defence is possible and improves reaction capacity."
MARSUNO was a 24-month pilot project involving nine
Member States: Sweden as lead partner, Belgium, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, in
partnership with Norway, inviting Russia as an observer. In
total 24 public authorities were involved.
The project's objective was to support
the creation of the 'CISE' by identifying
practical solutions to overcome legal,
technical and administrative hurdles to
cross-sectorial and cross-border
information sharing between maritime
authorities. MARSUNO is one of two
dedicated pilot projects that feed the
Commission's six step Roadmap process
towards establishing CISE.
MARSUNO concludes that establishing a
functional and efficient CISE for all
authorities acting in the European
maritime domain is crucial for enhancing
the efficiency and cost effectiveness of
maritime surveillance. CISE will be a
concrete and tangible outcome of the
EU's Integrated Maritime Policy.
BEST AQUACULTURE PRACTICES GROWS AT BOSTON
SEAFOOD SHOW
Enthusiastic activity at the Best Aquaculture Practices and
Global Aquaculture Alliance booths during the International
Boston Seafood Show reflected continued expansion of the
BAP farmed seafood certification program, according to a
report published in perishablenews.com.
"The interest in the BAP program we received in Boston was
very positive, and the BAP team lined up several facilities to be
inspected over the next several months," BAP Director
William More said. "This was probably our best Boston show
since we began promoting the BAP program in 2003."
More said eight new plants and nine new farms committed to
BAP certification during the show, and additional leads are
being pursued. The commitments came
from five shrimp farms in India, as well as
salmon farms in Canada and Chile, and a
tilapia farm in Brazil. Representing several
species, the plant applicants are located in
China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico and
Canada.
As of March 15, the 100 facilities -- 42
plants and 58 farms -- pending BAP
certification reflected more than double
the number of applicants in February
2011.
6
Meijer made an announcement on its support of BAP just
prior to the Boston show. Several other major retailers then
used the show as a platform from which to announce their
associations with Best Aquaculture Practices certification.
Supervalu, one of the United States' largest retailers, said it
has adopted BAP certification for its aquaculture
procurement policy. The move means that fish and shrimp
bearing the BAP mark will be available at thousands of Acme,
Albertsons, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's, Jewel-
Osco, Lucky, Save-A-Lot, Shaw's/Star Market, Shop 'n Save and
Shoppers Food & Pharmacy locations across the U.S.
BJ's Wholesale Club also announced its commitment to
sustainable seafood through its alignment with BAP. From
fresh fish to frozen value-added seafood, BJ's seafood partners
must take steps to responsibly source seafood for its 195
clubs and 107 gas stations in the eastern United States.
The Global Aquaculture Alliance develops the Best
Aquaculture Practices standards upon which BAP
certifications are based. In addition to sharing information
about BAP, GAA staff promoted the international
organization's upcoming GOAL 2012 seafood marketing
conference in Bangkok, Thailand, and distributed copies of the
Global Aquaculture Advocate magazine. Conversations at the
booth involved all levels of the farmed seafood industry, from
aquaculture producers and suppliers to
distributors and retailers.
Before the show opened, the BAP
Standards Oversight Committee met to
consider, among other issues, the crafting
of a "core" set of standards that apply to
shrimp, tilapia, catfish and Pangasius farms.
Additional "add-on" standards specific to
the culture of the individual species would
also be considered in audits and
certification.
"With all this activity, we are clearly
making a difference in the aquaculture
industry," GAA Executive Director Wally
Stevens said. "As 2012 further unfolds,
GAA will continue to spread the benefits
of responsible aquaculture through BAP
and our other global programs."
The Best Aquaculture Practices team will
attend the April 24-26 European Seafood
Exposition in Brussels, Belgium, and the
May 1-4 Australasian Aquaculture 2012
event in Melbourne, Australia.
CHINA BECOMES NEW ZEALAND’S BIGGEST SEAFOOD
EXPORT MARKET
China has now become the leading importer of New
Zealand seafood, according to the latest fisheries and
aquaculture production and trade figures released by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of New Zealand.
New Zealand’s fisheries and aquaculture exports for the
calendar year up to 31 December 2011 were up 2.9 per
cent on the previous year, to NZ$1.53 billion.
China imported NZ$299.6 million worth of New Zealand
seafood in the 2011 year, becoming the leading importer
ahead of Australia for the first time. Their main imports are
New Zealand live rock lobsters, hoki and squid. The United
States is the third-largest importer of
New Zealand seafood and Hong Kong
fourth.
According to the general manager of
the Seafood Industry Council, Alastair
Macfarlane, a factor in China's rise is its
free trade agreement with this country.
But he says it's also being driven by the
high demand for rock lobster, the
imported value of which is up by $100
million compared to 2010.
7
FAO INVESTS $500,000 TO PREVENT SHRIMP DISEASE
The Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has agreed to
support Viet Nam in implementing a one-year US$500,000
project to control the spread of an unidentified disease in
shrimp, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development (MARD).
FAO says that the funding will provide immediate assistance
to counteract the ongoing emergency situation in the field,
through the provision of seedlings for 2,000 poor farmers for
the next production cycle.
It will also provide technical support to confirm the diagnosis
of the currently unknown disease, improve shrimp on-farm
biosecurity; improve the aquatic animal emergency
preparedness guidelines and develop an aquatic animal health
management strategy for follow-up actions.
The unidentified shrimp disease has become serious,
especially in southern provinces. First recognised in May 2011,
it is suspected that the first outbreaks were in 2010. It is
estimated that more than 30,000 households are suffering
losses as a result. Although MARD has taken some measures
to contain the disease, it does not show signs of waning.
The pattern of disease spread is consistent with an infectious
agent which is currently unknown. The spread pattern and the
symptoms are not similar to any shrimp
disease outbreak in the country prior to
2010. Analysis of farm-level and pond-level
questionnaires provided preliminary
insight on a number of determinants (risk
factors) associated with this ‘unknown’
disease.
FAO describes the outbreak as an
emergency situation. 70 per cent of
shrimp production in the Mekong Delta
comes from affected areas.
The impact on the livelihood of shrimp
farmers is huge considering that for most
farmers, shrimp farming is the sole source
of livelihood, having shifted from rice and
field crop farming.
While large-scale farmers have covered
their immediate needs, several thousand
poor small-scale farmers who have lost
their production are facing difficulties for
restocking as they have lost their financial
capital (expected income from the
harvest) thus disabling them from having
the resources to purchase input for the
next production cycle.
In addition, the competent authority on
aquatic animal health and aquaculture
needs to be supported to better
understand the currently unknown
disease and design interventions aimed at
reducing its spread in a sustainable
manner.
Currently, MARD is asking the Ministry of
Planning and Investment to consider the
project and submit it to the Prime
Minister for approval.
8
EESC’S PRONOUNCEMENT ON THE FUTURE COMMON
FISHERIES POLICY
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
presented a pronouncement which states that the future
Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Market
Organisation for Fisheries Products must ensure
environmental sustainability, but also social, economic and
food sustainability, according to a report in ‘Fish Info &
Services’.
In that sense, the advisory body of the European Union (EU)
made a statement in accordance with the general and specific
aims of the current reform proposal of the Common
Fisheries Policy (CFP), but made some observations, the
report said.
During its plenary session, the EESC approved the
pronouncement on the Reform of the Common Fisheries
Policy and on the Common Market Organisation for Fisheries
Products, presented by the Spanish Gabriel Sarró.
The document warns that the current proposed Regulation
does not specify concrete measures for the management of
fisheries to be carried out so that fish stocks remain above the
levels capable of producing the maximum sustainable yield
(MSY).
To this end, the procurement, in which Cepesca Secretary
General, Javier Garat, participated as a qualified advisor,
supports the proposal to establish multi-year plans from now
onwards, until 2015.
However, it is recognized that this goal is difficult to apply in
mixed fisheries so the Commission is required to offer
"practical solutions to resolve issues that may develop in
these fisheries."
With regard to scientific research, EESC believes that
Member States should provide the scientific institutes with
the necessary means to conduct investigations so as to cover
all the commercially exploited fish species, associated and
dependent species as well as their environment. As for discard
ban, the agency believes that although it is a desirable goal, it
should be implemented gradually and proportionally, starting
with a progressive reduction.
Regarding the allocation of fishing
opportunities among Member States, the
Committee stresses the need to update
the distribution criterion, which is
"outdated and does not reflect the
current reality of the fishing fleets."
As to the foreign policy, the agency shares
the Commission's proposals in general,
but considers that the exclusivity clause
should be made flexible so as to
contribute in exceptional cases to
facilitate the access by the EU fleet to the
waters of third countries.
In this regard, EESC believes that the fees
should be reasonable so as not to damage
the competitiveness of enterprises
because fishing conditions are not equal in
all third countries. Regarding the
definition of the artisanal fleet, the body
says that the different realities in each of
the Member States should be taken into
account and a single criterion leading to
discriminatory situations should not be
arbitrarily applied.
It is considered that what is appropriate
would be to develop a definition of this
concept locally, regionally or nationally. It
is also proposed to include trap-net sites
(almadrabas) within the artisanal fisheries.
Finally, with respect to the Common
Market Organisation of Fishery Products,
the Committee considers that products
should be required the same sanitary-
hygiene and control conditions as those
applied to Community products to avoid
unfair competition.
9
ARGENTINA’S FISH EXPORTS FALL IN VOLUME AND VALUE
In the first two months of 2012, Argentina exported a total of
48,275 tonnes of fish and shellfish worth USD 152.6 million,
according to statistics from the National Health Service and
Food Quality (Senasa).
These figures represent a 13.4 per cent decrease in volume
and a 9.3 per cent fall in value compared with the same two-
month period last year, when 55,697 tonnes were shipped
abroad for USD 168.1 million.
Between January and February, Senasa certified fish exports
for 35,015 tonnes, valued at USD 89.2 million and 13,260
tonnes of seafood worth USD 63.4 million.
The major export records were those of hake (Merluccius
hubbsi), with 15,831 tonnes worth USD 42.6 million.
These figures represent 18 per cent increases in volume and
20.6 per cent rise in value compared with the first two
months of 2011, when 13,413 tonnes of hake were exported
for USD 35.3 million.
In volume terms, it was followed by shrimp (Pleoticus
muelleri), with 6,359 tonnes worth USD 33.4 million while
between January and February of last year 8,522 tonnes were
exported for USD 48.7 million, and after it the Patagonian
anchovy (Engraulis anchovy) was located with 5,498 tonnes
and USD 12.7 million.
A volume of 5,113 tonnes of squid (Illex argentinus) was
exported worth USD 11.9 million in the first two months of
this year, that is to say, 31.7 per cent more
in volume and 67.6 per cent more in value
than in the same two-month period of
2011 (3.882 tonnes and USD 7.1 million).
Then, the shipments of white croaker
(Micropogonias furnieri) abroad were
located, with 2,858 tonnes worth USD 5.3
million, and those of hoki (Macruronus
magellanicus), with 1,687 tonnes and USD
4 million.
Senasa reported that during the first two
months of 2012 a volume of 1,003 tonnes
of Patagonian scallop (Zygochlamys
patagonica) was exported for USD 12.2
million; 970 tonnes of weakfish
(Cynoscion striatus) were exported for
USD 2 million; and 689 tonnes of pollack
(Genypterus blacodes) were sent abroad
for USD 2.7 million.
Further back were located the exports of
fin rays (Potamotrygon brachyura), with
669 tonnes worth USD 1.6 million, and
those of f lounder (Paral ichthys
patagonicus), with 353 tonnes worth USD
1.9 million.
Spain remained the main destination for
Argentine fish and shellfish when
purchasing approximately 8,795 tonnes
worth USD 31.6 million in January and
February, 2012.
In second place was Brazil, with 7,103
tonnes worth USD 20.8 million, then the
US, with 2,867 tonnes valued at USD 14.1
million, and further back was Italy with
2,390 tonnes worth USD 9.4 million.
10
BAR CODING FOR FISH LOOMS IN THE PHILIPPINES
A bureau of the Department of Agriculture (DA) is now
working on the dioxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprinting of
fish products to eventually establish a barcoding system to
identify the exact species being bought by consumers.
The barcoding system also seeks to protect consumers, who
should get the right price for the right fish products they are
buying, media reports said.
This system, the National Fisheries Research and
Development Institute (NFRDI) said, is critical in food safety
and in ensuring that global markets can trace origin of fishery
products.
With barcoding, the genetic material of fish species can easily
be known and properly revealed to consumers.
The Philippines is the world’s sixth biggest in fish producer,
ninth in aquaculture, and third in aquatic plant production,
primarily seaweeds.
Without accurate identification of fish species through DNA
barcoding, mislabeling of fishery species may occur, NFRDI
warned.
Consumers may be misled into paying more than the actual
value of goods they are buying, according to NFRDI’s Benedict
A. Maralit and five co-authors in their
entry at the Bureau of Agricultural
Research (BAR)National Research
Symposium (NRS).
“DNA barcoding can differentiate
between closely related species that are
hard to tell apart, especially large fishes
that are difficult to bring back from the
field. It can identify products like fish fillets
so you know if the grouper you ordered in
a restaurant is really a grouper,“ said Dr
Mudjekeewis D. Santos, senior author of
the NFRDI Genetic Fingerprinting
Laboratory (GFL).
Their study won a silver award at the 2011
BAR-NRS.
Research in fisheries is among the
priorities of BAR as the country’s
archipelagic nature provides for a rich
food resource useful not only for
generating livelihood but enabling
valueadding in products that can be
exportable.
FIRST ROBOTIC FISH TESTED
The world's first robotic fish has successfully debuted
among real fish, paving the way for better
understanding of animal behaviour, an expert said.
The robot, capable of imitating real fish, has been
accepted into a school of fish and even became their
leader, Stefano Marras, a researcher with Italy's
National Research Council (CNR) who carried out
the test, said.
The robotic fish is jointly developed by CNR and the
New York University, Xinhua reported on 11th April.
Researchers found that fish were more
attracted towards the robot when its tail was
beating rather than when it was statically
immersed in the water.
The experiment may enable a better
understanding of fish' collective behaviour
and open new horizons in the methodologies
for their conservation, experts said.
For example, a robotic fish could be used for
guiding fish away from areas contaminated by
oil spills.
11
VIETNAM: BANKS STOP DISBURSEMENT FOR SEAFOOD
COMPANIES
After Bianfishco (the Vietnamese seafood company which has
become the hottest topic of the discussions with its financial
problems) reportedly defaulted on its bank debt payments,
commercial banks in Vietnam have unanimously ceased the
disbursement for seafood companies, putting a lot of
companies at the point of the death.
In Ca Mau province, by mid March 2012, many seafood
companies had shut down or just kept production at a
moderate level. Enterprises have attributed the production
stagnation to the lack of materials. However, in fact, the main
reason behind this is the lack of capital. Commercial banks
have tightened the lending to seafood companies after
Bianfishco missed the due debt payments. Some companies
even do not have money to pay their workers.
A lot of seafood companies in Ca Mau province have been
maintaining their production at a moderate level.
These include Ngoc Sinh Seafood Trade and Processing
Company in U Minh district, Dai Duong Food Copmany, Viet
Hai Processing and Import-Export Company, Minh Chau
Seafood Processing Company, Dai Duong Xanh Toan Cau
Seafood Processing Company in the Hoa Trung industrial
zone in Cai Nuoc district.
Two thirds of the workers at Viet Hai and Minh Chau have to
take other jobs temporarily. The payroll of Dai Duong
Company shows that the workers’ income has decreased
dramatically. In January 2012, a worker of IQF division earned
1.2-1.3 million dong only.
Recently, hundreds of workers of Quoc Viet Company in Ca
Mau City went on a strike, because their pay was just equal to
50 percent of the previous month.
Chau Thanh Ton, Chair of the Ca Mau provincial Labor
Federation, said that since the beginning of 2012, he has
continuously sent officers to seafood companies to help
Capital depleted, materials shortsettle labor disputes. The representatives
of the companies said that the production
goes downhill because they have run out
of working capital and have no materials
to process.
Nguyen Huu Thanh, Deputy General
Director of Dai Duong Food Company,
has admitted that the enterprises is facing
big financial difficulties, because it has to
pay overly high interest rates for bank
loans, while it is very difficult to collect
materials from farmers.
Thanh also said that commercial banks
have become very cautious while
establishing credit relations with seafood
companies in the post-Bianfishco period.
According to the Ca Mau provincial
Association of Seafood Exporters and
40,000 seafood workers in
distress
12
Producers (CASEP), there are 34 shrimp processing factories
in the province, of which only 40 percent of factories have
been profitable, while 30 percent on the verge of bankruptcy,
while others are meeting big difficulties. About 40,000
workers of the factories have been in distress.
In Bac Lieu province, in early March, a banker distrained upon
the Minh Hieu Company in Gia Rai town, which then caused a
fight between the two parties and was only settled by the
intervention of the police.
The banker, ACB Ca Mau branch, provided a loan worth 20
billion dong to Minh Hieu Company with the condition that
there always must be the volume of goods worth 30 billion
dong in the company’s stocks.
However, after the Bianfishco case, the bank has become
more cautious and discovered that only 7-
8 tons of shrimp in stocks Le Thi Hat,
Director of Minh Hieu, said that the bank
loan interest rates are overly high, while
the foreign importers, who apply strict
s t anda rds , h ave re f u sed some
consignments of exports with high
antibiotic residues.
As a result, the company has bogged down
in debts. The company has stopped
operation, while its 500 workers have left
for other enterprises. A source said that a
seafood processing company in Soc Trang
province still owes 2 trillion dong to
creditors. Meanwhile, the head of the
company is now in the US.
NIFES TO HELP CUBA BEGIN MARINE AQUACULTURE
The National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research
(NIFES) is one of several institutions in Norway involved in
the cooperation project, and will assist Cubans establishing a
marine aquaculture industry.
Freshwater-based aquaculture already exists in Cuba, but this
is the first time that marine aquaculture will be tried out on a
large scale. The aim is to create an economically and
ecologically sustainable marine aquaculture industry in Cuba.
“Some components will have to be built from the ground, so
this will be a long process, but the Cubans already possess
good expertise, and everyone involved are working hard to
get good results,” says Bjørn Tore Lunestad, who has just
returned to Norway from a series of meetings with the
Cuban Institute of Marine Research (CIP) in Havana.
Lunestad is a research scientist at NIFES and is coordinator of
the development cooperation project.
The first stages of the project will involve finding the most
suitable species for aquaculture, obtaining fry and making the
appropriate conditions for production, optimising fish feed
and identifying suitable seawater sites for
farms. An extra challenge in Cuba comes
from the tropical storms that regularly
assail the island.
The project will also evaluate various
means of processing and marketing the
farmed fish, as well as general competence
development, based on scientific meetings
and Master and PhD training in fish health,
feed development and aquaculture
technology.
NIFES will primarily be involved in
developing and optimising feeds for fry
and farmed fish.
The project will run for four years, and it
has been given NOK 17 million (EUR 2.23
million) in funding by the Norwegian
Agency for Development Cooperation
(NORAD).
13
ESTONIAN MINISTER DISCUSSES FISH EXPORTS TO UKRAINE
Fish trade was the main topic of discussion during the
Estonian agriculture minister's visit to Ukraine, last month.
Estonia is the third largest fish exporter to Ukraine after
Norway and Iceland, reports ERRNews. One of the main
issues was customs duties, which the Ukrainian Parliament is
in the midst of reforming, to the benefit of Estonia.
Currently, customs duties for fish imports to Ukraine are
based on a minimum product value. But the new system of
calculation will be specific to the country of origin.
“The bill, which will hopefully be approved this spring, will lead
to more just and transparent customs duties for fish exported
from Estonia - mainly Baltic sprat and Baltic herring. This will
foster growth in trading and increase the
competitiveness of Estonian fishers on
the Ukrainian market,” Minister of
Agriculture Helir-Valdor Seeder said in a
press release.
Officials also discussed the distribution of
fishing quota, data collection and analysis,
and the use of resources from the
European Fisheries Fund, including in the
promotion of fisheries' joint activities. The
minister continues his trip abroad today in
Moldova, where one of the topics of
conversation will be agricultural aid.
PAKISTAN'S SEAFOOD EXPORTS SURGE 15%
Pakistan’s exports of fish and fish preparations surged by
14.69 percent during the first eight months of current fiscal
year (2011-12), compared to the corresponding period of last
year. The exports of fish and fish preparations were recorded
at $195.284 million during July-February (2011-12) as against
the exports of $170.274 million during July-February (2010-
11), according to data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
However, in terms of quantity, the fish exports witnessed
nominal increase of 0.34 percent by going up from 74,265
metric tons to 74,518 metric tons. On month-on-month
basis, the seafood exports also witnessed positive growth of
13.88 percent during February 2012 when compared to the
same month of last year.
The fish exports during February 2012 were recorded at $21
million against the exports of $18.441 million during February
2011. However, as compared to the exports of $21.401
million recorded during January 2012, the exports during
February witnessed negative growth of 1.35 percent, the data
revealed.In terms of quantity, the fish exports increased by
5.57 percent in February 2012 when compared to the
exports of February 2011, however
decreased by 2.62 percent when
compared to the exports of January 2012.
The overall food exports from the
country witnessed nominal increase of
0.59 percent during the first eight months
by going up from $2.601 billion during
July-February (2010-11) to $2.616 billion
in July-February (2011-12).
The major food products that witnessed
positive growth in exports included The
food products that witnessed increase in
exports during the period under review
included rice (other than basmati),
exports of which increased by 2.91
percent, fruits (15.02%), leguminous
vegetables (1,315%), tobacco (37.85%),
oil, seeds, nuts and kernels (59.84%), meat
and meat preparation (16.46%) and other
food products (45.80%).
14
BANGLADESHI FISHING COMPANIES EXPECT RISE IN
TURNOVER
Bangladesh’s scope to the main fishing
zone in the pay, resulting in double the
present turnover, if not more.
Bangladesh won the ITLOS verdict on
March 13, which sustained its claim to
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic
zone (EEZ). Apart from this, the EEZ will
comprise of additional 260 nautical miles,
popularly known as the 'continental shelf',
where most of the fish sanctuaries are
located. However, local fishing firms do
not have the capacity and technology to
catch the high-priced sea-fishes, as they
cannot catch fish beyond 200 meter deep.
"If we want to catch the high-valued fishes,
we need to go down at least 500 meters
deep. It's not possible with our existing
fishing technology," said vice-president of
Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association,
Manowarul Haque. According to the
association, three new companies have
recently become the members
of the body, and several others
are on the process to be its
members.
Currently, Bangladeshi fishing
trawlers catch fishes from six
fishing grounds in the Bay. The
points are Elephant Point,
Kohinoor, West of Kohinoor,
Middle Point, Swatch Point, and
Swatch of No Ground.
Owners of some private sea-
fishing firm said India and
Myanmar confined Bangladesh
within 130 nautical miles, not
Leading Bangladeshi fishing firms are eyeing turnover worth
millions of dollar in their business following the landmark
maritime boundary victory against Myanmar, according to
‘The Financial Express’.
Terming the extended zone, awarded to Bangladesh in the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) verdict,
as golden treasure, they said there are immense possibilities
to catch high-valued fishes from the sea area, reports say. With
the execution of the verdict, Bangladesh could transform into
one of the top fish exporters of the world.
Various high-valued fishes, like Yellow fin Tunafish, Swordfish,
Black Marlin, Toadfish, Mackerel, Sardine Fish (Pilchards),
Rupchanda and Hilsa etc, might be caught from the Bay of
Bengal. Tuna fish is one of the world's most expensive fishes.
Export price of per tonne Tuna is about $6,750, and Yellowfin
Tuna of the Bay of Bengal has high demand across the globe,
according to Washington-based Global Agricultural Trade
System (GATS).
The top executive leading fish company in Chittagong as
having stating that the execution of the verdict would extend
15
allowing the country into its claimed 200 nautical miles of EEZ
before the verdict. "That's why we had no access into the sea-
fish sanctuaries, where the high-valued fishes are available,"
said Mohammad Shahjalal, managing director of North Bay
Fishing. "The recent verdict of course will offer us a significant
financial gain, and the government should take immediate
measures to protect the exclusive fish sanctuaries," he added.
According to him, nearly 20 per cent additional sea-fishes
could be caught from the areas.
The Bay of Bengal contributes 0.6 million tonnes of fish that
accounted for 20 per cent of the country's total fish collection
of 3.0 million tonnes, according to the Department of
Fisheries (DoF). Industrial marine fish contributes only 5.0 per
cent of the total marine fishing.
Managing director of Sea Fishers Limited Amanullah
Chowdhury told media that different varieties of high-priced
fishes can be caught from the deep sea. "It'll definitely put a
positive impact on our economy in the coming days." He said
the government should not allow any licence for fishing in the
Bay before conducting an extensive survey on how much
trawlers will be economically viable against the existing
fishery resources there.
The conglomerate of Sea Fishers Limited and Deep Sea
Fishers Limited is the country's leading fishing firm, which
earned $3.5 million by exporting fish in 2011. The firm started
its journey in 1982 with two trawlers. Now it has 15 trawlers,
and on an average monthly collects 100 tonnes of fishes, like
Cuttlefish, Tongue Sole, Kawa Fish and Aila Fish.Talking to the
media, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Abdul Latif Biswas said
the government will purchase a survey
vessel within the next 12 months to
explore the untapped resources in the
sea. The minister also expressed his
optimism that sea-fishes can dominate the
country's export list in the coming days by
earning a substantial amount of foreign
currency.
According to the Department of Sea
Fisheries Bangladesh (DoSF), fishing
trawlers collected 49,000 tonnes of fishes
from the deep sea in the 2010-11 fiscal
year. In the sea, 140 trawlers are operating
legally, out of the total of 180, which
caught 40,000 tonnes of fishes during the
July-January period of the present fiscal
(2011-12). Prof Dr Mostafa Ali Reza
Hossain of the Department of Fisheries
Biology and Genetics at Bangladesh
Agricultural University (BAU) said the
government has to remain alert for
protecting its sea-fishing grounds. He also
pointed out that the country's
universities should open oceanology in
their curriculum to produce researchers,
who can take the challenge of properly
utilising the sea, heavily enriched with
resources. "It's tough to establish our
claim in the sea than wining the verdict,
the claim needs to be established over
sea-territory to boost fish collection and
other sea resources," he added.
The global fish export volume is nearly
$100 billion, of which the Asian countries
accounted for $34-35 billion. Of the
volume, China fetched $12 billion,
followed by Thailand $6.5 billion, Vietnam
$4.0 billion, India $1.7 billion, Indonesia
$2.0 billion, and Bangladesh fetched $0.6
billion in the fiscal 2010-2011
16
DUBAI MUNICIPALITY SEIZES 1 TONNE OF UNDERSIZED FISH
Nearly one tonne of undersized fish stocks, illicitly collected
by traders, was seized recently from various markets of Dubai,
a senior Dubai Municipality (DM) official revealed. Khalid
Mohammed Sharif, director of Food Control Department at
the DM, said this huge quantity of restricted fish stock was
unearthed during the civic inspections at the fish markets.
A month after launching a campaign to protect fish stocks,
Dubai Municipality announced on 8th April that inspectors
had seized 14 species of undersized fish and had imposed
penalties on traders and fishermen. Around 186 kg was seized
in the first day of checking, but later after fifteen days it
reduced to 9 kg showing the success of the campaign, aimed at
preventing the selling and marketing of 14 types of undersized
fish.
Khalid said that the violators have been imposed penalties as
the first procedure of checking system. In the event of
repeated violations, huge fines will be imposed.
"The Monitoring Section on marine products has already
completed the procedures prior to the launch of the
campaign including the issuance of circular banning 14 items
of small fishes with its pictures and allowed sizes, which was
distributed to all fishermen and merchants in the emirate of
Dubai. In addition, the posters of Ministerial Decision No. 16
of 2010 banning the fishing and marketing of undersized fishes
were distributed in all fishing areas of the emirate aiming to
protect the fisheries as well as signboards were installed in
different places of fish market," he added. "The quantity of
seized fishes 890kg is out of 300,000 kg of total fishes came to
the market during the inspections period, which represents
0.03 per cent of total traded fish," he said.
The nine-month drive, Development and Sustainability of Live
Aquatic Wealth, aims to prevent the decline of fish stock -
notably young king fish, hammour, gish and pomfret. It also
aims to curb illegal and harmful fishing practices. An awareness
campaign targeting fishermen, supermarkets, malls and hotels
was launched after irresponsible fishing led to the death in
February of thousands of tuna, 18 nautical miles west of Dubai
in the area known as Boya Zahra.
The crackdown on catching and selling
small fish began after officials found
several premature, tiny fish in markets and
restaurants. Existing federal laws prohibit
their sale but the drive is expected to
improve compliance. Officials said the
drive would be implemented across the
UAE.
An index developed for the commercial
fisheries sector showed a significant
increase in the quantity of sustainably
exploited fish species in landings, from 10
per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2010.
However, the fish stocks are still over-
exploited and more effort needs to be
done to conserve them, experts warned.
They called for implementing a number of
comprehensive fisheries management
regulations and initiatives aimed at re-
building the country’s fish stocks.
The f isheries are an important
component of the cultural heritage of
coastal communities in the UAE. They
offer a source of employment and
recreation as well as contribute to the
food security of the country.
17
OMAN STRIVES TO DEVELOP AQUACULTURE
Oman has initiated various steps to make aquaculture a
growing and vibrant growth area, a top official said last month.
“We are aiming to produce 2,000 tonnes of shrimps valued at
around RO4 million and 500 tonnes of fish with an estimated
market value at RO2 million by 2015,” Dr Fahad S. Ibrahim,
director, Aquaculture Centre, Ministry of Agriculture &
Fisheries Wealth, told the Times of Oman.
Elaborating on the new initiative Dr Fahad said, “We expect
the overall sector to contribute $2 billion to the gross
domestic product and provide employment to 11,000 people
by 2030-2040 depending upon the factors prevailing then.”
The total aquaculture output for Oman in 2010 stood at 127
tonnes. As of now, only shrimps and small amount of fish is
farmed and production is minimal. The growth of aquaculture
will help to enhance consumption of fish, which will play an
important role in food security, he added.
Absence of a regulatory framework for the aquaculture
sector all these years has also hindered the production. Dr
Fahad said: “Regulatory framework is under implementation
and should be effective in the coming weeks. Already a large
number of private investors are interested in developing
aquaculture projects for shrimp, fish and abalone. Also a large
number of small farmers are interested in developing
integrated aquaculture to produce freshwater species in
agricultural farm.”
When asked about opportunities for investors in aquaculture
and what facilities and incentives the government is offering,
Dr Fahad said: “One Store Shop — supply of sites, soft loans,
no tax to import equipment and farm inputs and no income
tax during five years are some of the incentives we plan to
offer.” Investors currently need not start from a scratch as the
basic ground work has already been done by the authorities.
Also, appropriate sites have been identified and an atlas has
been printed so that it would be easy for the investors to base
their projects. Dr Fahad said that the development of a lively
aquaculture industry will not only increase seafood
production but also decrease pressure on high value
commercial species.
Also, aquaculture might ultimately used to
supplement declining populations of
important species through enhancement
programmes.
Aquaculture production in Oman has
been dominated by sea cage farming of
gilt-head sea bream although a recently
pond-based shrimp culture has been
developed. At present, the largest
aquaculture company in Oman is the
Asmak which owns sea cages near
Quriyat. Shrimp farming is undertaken by
a private company Bentoot Sea Food
Products, which started production in
2007. The farm, which is operated as a
pilot project, is located near Ras Bintawt.
Dr Fahad said: “Some of the best
aquaculture practices that can be done
are cultivating shrimp in semi-intensive
earth ponds, marine fish in onshore tanks,
marine fish in floating cages, abalone farms
in tanks, satellite projects of small farms
associated to industrial farms for shrimp
and f ish production, integrated
freshwater farms (fish + crops),
production of juveniles and restocking
programme for fisheries management and
ornamental fish production.”
The extent of land available for
aquaculture in Oman currently is about
15,000 ha. In 2011 around 251 tonnes of
aquaculture produce, mainly the Indian
white shrimp and tilapia, was reported.
Disease control and health management
in aquaculture are the main constraints in
meeting the demand for food fish in the
future.
18
PORTUGAL INCREASINGLY DEPENDENT ON IMPORTED FISH
According to a joint report by News Economic Foundation
(NEF) and OCEAN2012, Portugal is one of the countries of
the European Union (EU) depending more on imported fish,
media reported last month.
Whereas last year Portugal was self-sufficient until 26th April,
this year the country stopped being self-sufficient on 30
March; almost a month early. What makes the scenario worse
is that the country depends more on fishing outside the EU to
fulfil the remaining three quarters of its annual consumption.
Aniol Esteban, from News Economic Foundation, co-author
of the report, notes that Portugal is the country showing the
highest per capita fish consumption across the EU, with an
intake that is three times higher than the EU average. The
report also warns that "fish stocks are a renewable resource,
but, according to statistics from the European Commission,
more fish are being caught from the sea than what ecosystems
can replenish."
The report aims to "draw attention to a fundamental issue
because if both the EU and Portugal consume more fish than
their waters can produce, something has to change."
Interestingly, the warning comes at a time
when the reform of the Common
Fisheries Policy (CFP) is under discussion.
The report also reveals that much of the
consumption in Portugal is focused on a
single species, cod, which is not captured
by the Portuguese fleet.
The report recommends that the
Portuguese should choose other species
that are caught in national waters even
when they may not be as well known and
popular, such as mackerel, which currently
has a low commercial value.
Gonzalo Carvalho, president of the
Association of Marine Sciences and
Cooperation, believes aquaculture can
solve part of the problem "but only if it is
directed towards environmentally
sustainable production methods" and
towards species that are not dependent
on other wild fish for their production.
SRI LANKA CALLS FOR JOINT SEA PATROLLING WITH INDIA
Sri Lanka has called for joint patrolling between the navies of
Sri Lanka and India to prevent clashes between fishermen of
both countries, a Sri Lankan minister said last month.
Douglas Devananda, a minority Tamil minister, told Xinhua
news agency that he has already discussed the issue with Sri
Lankan fishermen on a disputed island in the north of the
country.
Fishermen from India often stray into Sri Lankan waters to
catch fish near the Kachchaitivu Island resulting in clashes
between fishermen from both countries.
Devananda said that that the daily livelihood of Sri Lankan
fishermen have been seriously affected with the Indians
encroaching in Sri Lankan waters.
"Sometimes these Indians damage the
fishing nets of Sri Lankan fishermen. This
has become a serious issue. I have
suggested that the Sri Lankan and Indian
navy conduct joint patrolling near the
maritime boundary of both countries to
prevent these kind of incidents from
taking place," Devananda said.
Politicians in the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu have been demanding the
19
AUSTRALIA SECURES FUTURE FISH STOCKS WITH NEW
TREATIES
The Gillard Government continues to demonstrate its
international leadership on sustainable fisheries management
by ratifying two international treaties to manage and conserve
fish stocks in vast high seas areas of the Pacific and Indian
Oceans.
The government simultaneously ratified, last month, in Rome
and Wellington, the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries
Agreement and the Convention on the Conservation and
Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South
Pacific Ocean respectively.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe
Ludwig, said that the Australian ratification of these treaties
made sense, given the strong management of domestic
fisheries.
“Here at home, we have some of the best managed fisheries in
the world,” Minister Ludwig said.
“These treaties will close a governance gap in important high
seas fisheries that neighbour Australia’s domestic fisheries
and they will ensure that fishing for those stocks will be
subject to international regulation.
“By being a party to these treaties, Australia has the
opportunity to shape the management of these resources and
secure participatory rights for the Australian fishing industry.
“If we’re using the resources, we should have a say in their
management.”
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said the
r a t i f i c a t ion showed Aus t ra l i a ’s
commitment to responsibly managing the
valuable resource of the oceans.
“Fishery resources are critical to many
countries in our region, especially in the
Pacific, as a source of income and food
security. These treaties represent an
important step forward in their better
management,” Senator Carr said.
The treaties will manage and conserve
deep sea and non-highly migratory fishery
resources in previously unregulated areas
of the south Pacific and southern Indian
Oceans. Fishery resources covered by the
treaties include commercially valuable
deep-water species such as orange
roughy and alfonsino, which the Australian
industry has been fishing for well over a
decade.
In the Pacific Ocean, Australia, Chile and
New Zealand co-sponsored the
negotiations to establish the Convention
on the Conservation and Management of
High Seas Fishery Resources in the South
Pacific Ocean. The treaty establishes the
South Pacif ic Regional Fisheries
Management Organisation.
The ratification of the Southern Indian
Ocean Fisheries Agreement allows
Australia to begin work with the Cook
Islands, the European Union, Mauritius
and the Seychelles to establish binding
measures to manage the fishery
resources in the high seas of the southern
Indian Ocean
20
CARIBBEAN TO PROMOTE AQUACULTURE
Mr Haughton added that poaching is a
problem affecting many countries in the
Caribbean, citing minimal penalties
imposed by many countries in the region
as not enough of a deterrent. He said:
"Poaching is a massive problem. It is a
massive problem in the Bahamas, and in
the same way it is affecting just about all of
our counties."
"Most of our countries have relatively
large maritime spaces. We are very small
states with very limited capacity for
monitoring, control surveillance and
enforcement, and because of that our
region is attractive to poachers."
"On top of that, the penalties that we
impose for infringement of our laws and
regulations for the most part tend to be
minimal. The penalties we impose tend
not to be severe enough to be a deterrent.
There are some countries in the region
where the poacher will not think about
entering because they know that the
penalties are very severe."
Mr Haughton said the Caribbean needs to
boost its trade in fish. "We need to access
markets in Europe, Asia and in the US for
our products. because that is one way of
boosting profitability," he explained.
"One of the main challenges is to ensure
that we have in place suitable systems to
ensure that the products we export are of
good quality and safe to eat. We need to
put in place the legal, regulatory and
administrative systems to have good
quality assurances systems to meet
international standards.”
The Caribbean is far behind the rest of the world in
developing aquaculture, the executive director of the
Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) told media.
Milton Haughton, who is spearheading a three-day Caribbean
Fisheries Forum in Nassau, said the establishment of a
regional aquaculture working group to promote the
expansion of both marine and fresh water aquaculture was
among the list of issues on the forum's agenda.
Mr Haughton said, "We will also be discussing the situation as
it relates to aquaculture development, marine fisheries
globally and in the region. The capacity to produce more is
limited, and we have to face that reality."
"On the aquaculture side, however, and I mean mariculture as
well, we are far behind the rest of the world in terms of the
development of aquaculture. We have huge potential for
increasing and expanding the production of aquaculture in the
Caribbean region."
"We are indeed behind if you look at what is happening in Asia
and Latin America; they have moved ahead on aquaculture
development. Aquaculture in the Caribbean region
contributes to one to two per cent of the total fish
production, whereas in Asia and some other countries it's 50
per cent."
"Now we have available new technologies and scientific
advances that we need to use in order to ensure that we
develop aquaculture, and ensure we develop it in a sustainable
manner, because we have to pay attention to the ecological
sustainability of aquaculture."
21
SURVEY REVEALS PLENTY OF FISH IN THE ROSS SEA
A New Zealand-led survey of young toothfish in Antarctica
has found high densities of the highly-prized fish in the
southern Ross Sea.
Marine scientists Dr Stuart Hanchet, from NIWA, and Dr
Hyun-Su Jo, from Korea, recently completed the first survey of
young Antarctic toothfish.
Dr Hanchet says the successful survey is the first in a series
that will monitor numbers of young Antarctic toothfish in the
Ross Sea region.
He says, “To monitor fish abundance properly, it is necessary
that the surveys be conducted in a controlled and rigorous
way. For example, this means using the same fishing gear and
the same bait, at the same time and location every year. It is
also important that the survey is carefully designed so that it
samples the main area in which the target population is found.
“This survey will be an important monitoring tool to make
sure the level of fishing remains sustainable.”
Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) are found at
depths down to 2000 metres. Fish mature at a length of 120-
130 cm, and most adults live to an average age of 20 to 24
years.
“We’re looking at both the number and size of fish that are
between five and 10 years old and less than 100 cm in length”,
says Dr Hanchet. “We currently collect good information to
monitor the abundance of adult toothfish, but we don’t have
the same quality of information for young fish. These fish are
the adults of tomorrow, and by tracking this part of the
population we can make sure that catch limits are set at the
correct level in the future”.
“Using the results of the survey, we will be able to model and
forecast the future fish population. We need to develop a
series of surveys over time because a single survey by itself
tells us very little,” says Dr Hanchet.
Under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty, the Antarctic
toothfish fishery is managed by the Commission for the
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
(CCAMLR). CCAMLR sets the rules for
fishing in the CCAMLR Convention Area,
which includes the Ross Sea, and all
participating member countries have to
operate within these rules.
CCAMLR takes a precautionary approach
to fishing in the Ross Sea. This means
making careful and cautious decisions
when there is uncertainty, so that the
overall level of fish abundance remains
high.
Countries fishing in the Ross Sea must tag
a certain number of toothfish for scientific
research, and carry out biological
sampling of toothfish, as well as other fish
species caught as by-catch.
“Tagging information has been critical to
developing a comprehensive stock
assessment model for the fishery to
estimate biomass and set catch limits,”
says Dr Hanchet.
New Zealand vessels voluntarily
introduced tagging in 2001, and tagging for
all CCAMLR vessels became mandatory
in 2004. New Zealand fishery scientists
began assessing toothfish stocks in 2005.
The survey was a New Zealand-led
scientific contribution to CCAMLR. It was
designed by marine scientists in NIWA
and the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry (Fisheries science), and involved
a collaboration with the fishing industry,
which provided the platform for the
survey – the Sanford vessel San Aotea II.
The main objective of this first toothfish
survey was to establish the feasibility of
developing a time-series of surveys to
22
monitor young toothfish in the southern Ross Sea using
standardised commercial long-line fishing gear.
Fifty-nine random locations were surveyed using long-lines,
each comprising 4600 hooks, set for up to 24 hours, within a
survey area of 30,000 square kilometres. They caught mainly
70–100 cm toothfish (at times over 100 individuals per line), in
depths from 300-900 metres. The fish caught were then
measured and sexed, with biological samples taken for further
analysis back in New Zealand.
The survey also demonstrated the feasibility of collecting
samples for wider ecosystem monitoring. A large number of
samples of muscle tissue and stomachs were collected from
Antarctic toothfish and several other fish species, and will be
analysed to understand feeding habits and relationships with
other organisms in the food chain.
The results of this survey will be presented at the next
CCAMLR meeting, together with a proposal to continue the
survey in future years.
• Fishing for Antarctic toothfish in the Ross Sea region began
in 1997/8.
• The number of licensed fishing vessels in the Ross Sea is
carefully controlled by CCAMLR. In the current 2011/12
season, 18 vessels were permitted to fish, of which 15 actually
Background facts
fished.
• The total catch limit this season was
3282 tonnes.
• New Zealand’s participation in the Ross
Sea toothfish fishery is worth NZ$20-30
million per annum in export earnings.
• The New Zealand delegation to
CCAMLR comprises officials from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and
D e p a r t m e n t o f C o n s e r v a t i o n .
Representatives from the fishing industry
and environmental NGOs have been
included in the New Zealand delegation in
past years.
• There are two toothfish species in
Antarctica waters. The Antarctic toothfish
is found around the Antarctic continent in
Antarctic waters, and the Patagonian
toothfish which is found further north in
sub-Antarctic waters. In the mid to late
1990s the Patagonian fish was heavily over
fished by illegal vessels. The stocks are
believed to have stabilised, and in some
cases re-built.
Indian government take back the Kachchaitivu Island which
was ceded to Sri Lankan years ago.Indian fishermen have been
accusing the Sri Lankan fishermen and Sri Lankan navy of
attacking them when they cross the boundary line to catch
fish near Kachchaitivu.
Devananda said that the only way one can find out who is
attacking who is by conducting joint patrolling at the
international maritime boundary line.
The Sri Lankan minister also called on Tamil Nadu politicians
to look at the fishermen issue and try to solve that instead of
raising allegations of human rights violations against the Sri
Lankan government.Tamil Nadu political parties last week
claimed they had convinced the Indian government to vote
against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva.
A majority of the UN Human Rights
Council members voted in favor of a
resolution on Sri Lanka calling for the
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a s e t o f
recommendations by a Sri Lankan war
commission amidst allegations of war
crimes being committed during the final
stages of a war between the Sri Lankan
army and Tamil Tiger rebels three years
ago.
23
MALTESE AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY SETS LOFTY TARGETS
Capture-based tuna farming will contribute about €73 million
to the Maltese economy and account for over 2,000 jobs in
2025, according to a draft strategy on the aquaculture
industry, published last month.
The draft strategy was drawn up by the University of Stirling
after a call for tenders, and the EU provided 75% of the
necessary funds.
The proposed strategy is part of a public consultation process
on a national strategy for aquaculture, an industry that
originated 22 years ago. The public consultation will last six
weeks.
Maltese Fisheries Minister George Pullicino noted that the
Maltese aquaculture industry traces its origin to the late
1980s, and presently comprises six companies operating nine
sites.
But it has been transformed over the past few years, and has
become heavily geared towards capturing live bluefin tuna and
fattening them before harvest and sale, mainly to the Japanese
market. In fact, five of the six companies are involved in tuna
fattening, four of them exclusively.
The species is considered to be endangered due to
overfishing, and decreasing quotas have hit the industry over
the past few years. While 7,000 tonnes of tuna were harvested
in 2007 – making Malta the largest producer in the
Mediterranean – the amount has decreased considerably
since then. Figures for 2011 are not yet
available, but the strategy report suggests
that the harvest was of less than 1,000
tonnes.
So far, hatching and raising tuna
throughout their lifecycle – what is known
as closed cycle aquaculture – is not yet
viable, although research efforts are
underway in Malta and overseas. If this
research obtains the desired results, the
need to capture fish for fattening would
be eliminated, thus helping ensure the
species’ viability.
However, the desired breakthrough
remains a long way away. None of the tuna
eggs hatched at the Malta Aquaculture
Research Centre (MARC) at the St Lucian
Tower in Marsaxlokk last July survived,
although a small proportion did survive in
a similar experiment in Spain.
Tuna are currently fed baitfish, and the
strategy recommends research into the
development of alternative feeds to
reduce reliance on other fish.
The industry, which had the potential to
provide 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and
generated gross value added for the
economy to the tune of €120 million,
today consists of six operators, working
from nine sites.
The sector now needed a strategy to
determine exactly where it was going and
how to get there, Mr Pullicino said. A plan
for the sustainable development of
aquaculture and a guide for investment in
the field were needed, he said.The
strategy is based on 10 points, including
24
establishing production volumes, identifying sites for
aquaculture, consultation with stakeholders, research and
finance needs, the streamlining of licensing procedures,
control on fish health and product diversification and
commercialisation. The strategy also recommends research
into other species which could potentially be farmed in Malta,
such as groupers, sparids, octopus and sea urchins.
The aquaculture industry would also require additional sites
to grow, and the strategy report recommends identifying
suitable near-shore and offshore sites. The report notes that
the 2025 goal can only be achieved if the government ensures
that increased site capacity is made available.
The government should support the industry through
research efforts, improved regulation and assistance with
marketing, according to the strategy. It should also engage in
efforts to improve the image of aquaculture: The report notes
that problems associated with the baitfish feeding of tuna have
helped bring about a poor public image.
Mr Pullicino noted that the strategy’s
forecasts showed that aquaculture had
the potential to be a major contributor to
the Maltese economy, as well as help in its
diversification.
He noted that developing the industry in
Malta and across the EU would help
reduce the EU’s heavy dependence on
imported fish, thus contributing greatly to
its food security.
The minister welcomed increased
investment from the EU in the sector,
pointing out that Malta had long called for
it.He noted that it was important to
ensure the industry was sustainable, but
also to ensure that it received the
necessary support through research and
other efforts.
NAMIBIA STRIKES FISHING DEAL WITH MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambican fishing companies will be able to fish in Namibian
waters, and Namibian companies in Mozambican waters, as
from this year.
Speaking to reporters last month during the State visit of
President Hifikepunye Pohamba, Mozambique’s Deputy
Fisheries Minister Gabriel Muthisse said that the government
has granted Namibia an annual quota of 35,930 tonnes of
fisheries produce. Around 25,000 tonnes of this quota is
pelagic fish (including tuna, sardines and sawfish). The rest is
broken up into quotas for gamba (deep water prawns), crabs,
squid and octopus, reports NewEra.
Currently Mozambique imports from Namibia 35,000 tonnes
of carapau (horse mackerel), which is an important source of
protein for the urban population. If these imports are
substituted by the products of Mozambican fishing companies
trawling in Namibian waters, Muthisse expected the price to
fall. “Currently trade between our countries is very low, and
this does not please us,” Namibian
Foreign Minister, Utoni Nujoma, said.
“Today we are happy with the news that
Mozambique has decided to allocate
quotas to Namibian fishing companies and
this measure is reciprocal”.
Mr Nujoma described the political
relations between the two countries as
“excellent”. He believed that progress in
economic development was being made
thanks to the implementation of the
SADC (Southern African Development
Community) Free Trade Area, and the
memorandum of understanding on
b i l a te ra l coopera t ion be tween
Mozambique and Namibia.
25
AQUAVISION 2012: MORE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED
The AquaVision 2012 conference brings a wide range of
speakers from all continents, to provide delegates with a wide
combination of information and opinion.
The topic “Feeding nine billion people” is expected to be part
of many conversations during the conference.“Food
production must increase substantially if the predicted
population of 2050 is to be fed adequately. That alone is a
challenge. Doing it sustainably and with minimal impact on
biodiversity is another”, says Knut Nesse, head of Skretting
Group and member of Nutreco Executive Board.
With world class speakers such as former Secretary-General
of the United Nations Mr Kofi Annan, Assistant Director
General at FAO Mr Arni M. Mathiesen, Professor Ruby
Rabbinge, University of Wageningen, Dr Fraser Thomson of
McKinsey and Dr Lisa Borges, Sustainable Fisheries
Partnership, AquaVision 2012 actively sets the scene for this
important discussion.
Scheduled on day one of AquaVision 2012, the topic “Feeding
nine billion people” is expected to be part of many
conversations during the conference. World population is
predicted to grow from the current seven billion to more than
nine billion in 2050.
About 90 per cent of this growth will be in Asia and Africa. On
average, those people will live longer. Life expectancy at birth
is projected to rise from 68 years today to 76 years in
2045–2050. In 2050, urbanisation will have increased to 70 per
cent of the world population, making
more people dependent on fewer food
producers for their food.
At the same time, per capita incomes are
projected to be a multiple of today’s.
Feeding more than nine billion wealthier
and longer-living mouths in 2050 would
require raising overall food production by
at least 70 per cent, possibly doubling it.
Aquaculture will play an ever more
important role in the future seafood
supply to secure per capita consumption.
AquaVision is established as a world-class
aquaculture conference that attracts 400
top decision makers from the industry to
Stavanger every second year.
Scheduled for 11–13 June, 2012, in
Stavanger, Norway, this ninth AquaVision
conference brings a wide range of
speakers from all continents and to
provide delegates with a wide
combination of information and opinion.
More detailed information about
AquaVision 2012, speakers, topics and
networking opportunities, can be found at
www.aquavision.org.
26
FOR CALIFORNIA FISHERMEN, SQUID MEANS BIG MONEY
As the sun sets over the ocean, the six crewmen on the Cape
Blanco are starting a long night's work off the far side of Santa
Catalina Island, putting on orange slickers and hard hats to fish
for the milky white mollusks that have become California's
most valuable catch.
Below the gentle waves off the side of the boat swims an
immense school of market squid.
Capt. Nick Jurlin, pacing impatiently with a cigarette dangling
from his mouth, is eager to pull in as much of it as possible.
Five nights a week, the third-generation fisherman from San
Pedro steps into a pair of rubber boots and hunts for squid
along the Southern California coast. The 50-year-old with
spiky blond hair and wraparound sunglasses looks the part of
a man who's wrestled with nets in the salty air since he was a
teenager — his arms are taut, his neck creased and weathered,
his voice gravelly from going without sleep.
On a night like this, the 90-foot steel vessel can bring in as
much as $50,000 worth of the seafood so popular worldwide
that all but a fraction is shipped overseas to be served as
calamari.
But for the Cape Blanco and dozens of squid fishing boats
working out of ports like San Pedro and Monterey, the boom
is an uncertain one. Doubts are emerging about how long one
of California's last remaining money fish will stay bountiful.
Though Jurlin and his crew are four hours from shore tonight,
they are not alone.
Rocking in the waves around them are a dozen other purse
seiners beginning the same ritual: encircling the darting mass
of tentacled, hot dog-sized sea creatures with huge nets that
will be cinched up like the drawstring of a purse.
A flotilla of smaller boats assists by following the swarms and
coaxing them to the surface with 30,000-watt lanterns that
light up the ocean with an otherworldly green and white glow.
On Jurlin's signal, a deckhand swings a hefty metal bar above
his head and slams it into a pelican hook, freeing a clunky metal
skiff that plunges into the water and
rumbles away, its motor filling the night air
with exhaust.
Each man takes his position on the Cape
Blanco's deck, working among strained
cables and ropes as thick as fire hoses. A
hydraulic winch whirs, engines roar and
propellers gurgle as a tangle of black
netting, yellow floats and steel rings
tumble into the water off the back of the
boat. The skiff tows it all in a wide circle
around the squid, trapping the school.
Most of the world's market squid is
harvested from California's shallow
waters, where they gather in enormous
schools each year to mate, deposit their
eggs on the seafloor and die.
Cold ocean conditions have drawn them
in such numbers lately that fishermen
have handily caught their 118,000-ton
limit — enough to fill 60 Olympic-size
swimming pools — and the state has shut
them down early two years running.
Surging demand in China, Japan, Mexico
and Europe has boosted prices and
launched a fishing frenzy worth more than
$70 million a year.
The good times have drawn the attention
of conservationists, who fear such
abundant catches are threatening the
foundation of a delicate marine food web.
Groups like Oceana and Audubon
Cali fornia are pushing for new
protections for squid, sardines, anchovies,
herring and other small, schooling prey
known as "forage fish."
A bill moving its way through the
27
California Legislature would require the state to leave more
small fish in the water for seabirds, whales, dolphins and other
natural predators to feed on.
Those like Jurlin, whose families have fished these waters for
generations, say a smaller catch could be crippling.
During the squid season, Jurlin pushes off each afternoon from
Terminal Island, where a few other purse seiners dock along a
waterfront of weedy and abandoned lots where street names
— Sardine, Cannery and Wharf — reflect a fish-packing
industry that is largely gone.
He follows the squid from the Channel Islands to San Diego,
setting out net after net and returning before dawn the next
morning.
Tonight he motors along the backside of Catalina as his
crewmen eat spaghetti and watch baseball in the galley. Many,
like Jurlin, are the sons or grandsons of fishermen.
It isn't long before they bring in their first net.
Frigid water falls in sheets from the net as it is pulled through a
giant hydraulic pulley towering above the deck. The men pile it
into a slippery mound, slowly corralling the squid closer to the
boat.
Whether stacking rings or piloting the skiff, each crewman is
dedicated to a single task. There is no conversation. It is
dangerous, straining work, and they focus with intense
precision.
By the time Jurlin and several deckhands reach over the side
of the boat to gather the last bunches of loose net, their bright
slickers are drizzled with black ink from the squid.
Fishing for squid can be good money, but it is unpredictable.
The boat's owner, Tri Marine Fish Co., takes half the earnings,
and the crew divides the rest. For a good night's work,
deckhands can earn well over $1,000 and the captain and
engineer even more. On a bad night, they might catch enough
to cover fuel.
In the off-season, the fishermen sew up nets, make repairs and
paint the boats — without pay. A few months of the year, they
make a little money fishing for sardines. But without squid,
there are no big paychecks.
As luck would have it, the night's first net
bursts with an exceptional haul: 40 tons of
squid.
“Everybody's going to do real well
tonight," Jurlin tells the crew.
They lower a heavy metal pump into the
thick stew, and the catch goes sloshing
into the ship's refrigerated wells below
deck.
Once their catch is stowed, the crewmen
hose off and light up cigarettes as the fog
moves in.
A half century ago, the sardine was king of
the sea.
In the 1930s and '40s, the largest fishing
industry in the Western Hemisphere
centered on California's harvest of the
oily, silvery fish. Monterey was its capital,
its crowded waterfront the backdrop for
John Steinbeck novels such as "Cannery
Row."
But the boom went bust by mid-century
as overfishing brought a devastating
collapse.
Squid fishing exploded in the 1990s when
worldwide demand jumped. Over the last
decade, the California Department of Fish
and Game has kept the fishery in check
with catch limits, a ban on weekend fishing
and a cap on the number of squid boats.
Squid come and go in cycles, streaming to
shore when waters are cold and vanishing
during warm El Niño periods. And they
live just a year, making it difficult for
scientists to assess the health of their
population. Conservation groups, in
saying current limits are too permissive,
point to research saying those huge
fluctuations make small fish like squid
28
particularly vulnerable to collapse.
The industry says California's regulations already guard
against overfishing and don't need to be changed.
Standing at the helm in the dark, Jurlin studies a glowing grid of
navigation screens and electronic fish finders.
He sips coffee and watches for diving birds and sea lions —
nature's squid detectors. He talks to himself to stay awake and
keeps a running dialogue on the radio with friendly boats to
gather intelligence on fishing spots.
Like many fishermen here, Jurlin is a descendant of
immigrants, born into the profession.
His grandfather was an illegal immigrant from Croatia who
jumped ship in Canada and made his way to San Pedro to fish
almost a century ago. Jurlin's father fished, and his
grandmothers and mother packed tuna back when the San
Pedro waterfront was alive with canneries.
Jurlin started working on Alaskan salmon vessels as a teenager
and bought his first boat when he was 21.
Over the past 30 years, he and his wife have raised two
daughters, bought a condo in downtown Long Beach and
second home in Arizona. Squid has paid for it all.
He has staked his future on being able to continue. When the
first squid upswing hit 16 years ago, he bought his own seiner.
During this boom he put his two sons-in-
law aboard to learn the profession.
"We've been hitting it pretty good, but it's
sustainable," he says. "We get a bad rap
from the environmentalists. They'll tell us
there's no fish, and we'll come out here
and see incredible amounts. They say we
want to rape and pillage the ocean. But
this our livelihood."
As is so often the case lately, Jurlin and his
crew are catching so much squid so
quickly that it strains buyers in San Pedro,
who can only fit so much in their freezers.
So tonight, each vessel can load up with
just 70 tons before returning to the docks,
where workers will pump the squid
ashore and slop it into plastic-lined boxes.
Forklifts will wheel it into warehouse-
sized blast freezers, where it will be
prepared for shipment to Asia.
From there, it will be processed and
shipped around the world, some back to
restaurants in California.
It's just before midnight when the captain
of a fellow squid
boat, the Ferrigno
Boy, radios to report
he has caught too
much. Could the
Cape Blanco suck up
the surplus?
"Okey-dokey," Jurlin
responds, setting
down the radio.
"That's it. Another
day in paradise."
Source: Los Angeles
Times
29
Indian Seafood Industry News
CHINA TO RESTRICT IMPORTS FROM INDIA
China, one of India’s largest markets for seafood exports, has
decided to stop imports from India starting 1st June this year.
India, along with some other countries, have been excluded
from the list of countries that have cleared China’s General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine (AQSIQ) certification norms for export of
aquatic products. The new development is widely believed to
seriously hit the Indian seafood exports sector, which is
already reeling under the effect of various impediments.
According to a notice published, China will allow seafood
imports only from 27 AQSIQ-approved countries. From Asia,
eight countries, namely, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Pakistan,
Burma, Japan, Philippines and Turkey, have been notified as
“permitted to pass CIQ”. Ten countries from the European
Union, seven from the Americas and two from Oceania also
figure in the list of permitted countries. Consignments from
countries other than these 27 would be sent back to their
home countries, starting June. Industry experts feel that India
will be severely affected by new regulation, China being one of
its major importers of fish and fish
products. Particularly, the Gujarat region
of the seafood export sector is likely to
take the major blow, on account of it being
the largest of exports contributor to
China. The industry is already facing
problems as another major importer of
Indian seafood, Japan, has imposed a 100%
antibiotic QC on shipments of Indian
shrimps.
During 2010-11, India’s seafood exports
to China stood at 159,000 tonnes, more
than 20% of the country’s total exports
for the year. In value terms, this translates
to Rs.1,978 crore, or 15% of our total
earnings. China mainly imports low-value
bulk items from India, as opposed to other
major Indian markets such as the EU, US
and Japan, which import only high-value
items like frozen shrimp and squid.
CENTRE INITIATES ANTIBIOTICS BAR ON FOOD-PRODUCING
ANIMALS
The Union health ministry has, for the first time, specified a
timeframe for "food-producing animals" or marine products
to be kept off antibiotics before they enter the human food
chain, according to a report in The Times of India. The
European Union has been pressing India to specify the
withdrawal time as its imports meats and fish from India.
The withdrawal period, according to the insertion to Rule 37
of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1945, which came into force
from January 17, "shall be less than seven days for egg and milk,
28 days for meat from poultry and mammals, including fat and
offal, before they enter the human food
chain. For fish, it is 500 degree days (taken
into account both the temperature of
water and the number of days)". The
parameters shall be put down on the
labels of the container, says the report.
The news report quoted a ministry official
as saying that, earlier, the rules didn't even
quantify how much antibiotics could be
used in animals and till when. He added
30
that now that it has been inserted into the Act, states would
start clamping down on food producers who fail to adhere to
the withdrawal time.
Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics has been prevalent, aiming
to make chickens fatter and shrimps larger, which, in the long
run, has been making humans resistant to antibiotics.
According to some experts, antibiotics are eight times more
likely to be used for non-therapeutic purposes than for
treatment. Long-term administration of antibiotics in animal
feed causes antibiotic-resistant genes to multiply. Treated
animals become "factories" for the production and
distribution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as salmonella
and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, an infection
that is resistant to common antibiotics.
A ministry official opined that with the enforcement of the
withdrawal period, it could be ensured the meat does not
carry antibiotic residues in quantities in excess of the
maximum residual limits laid down. Since bacteria can transfer
antibiotic resistance to other bacteria, even if farmers turn to
antibiotics that are not commonly used to treat people, these
drugs administered over long periods of time can also
promote resistance.India has also
prohibited use of over 20 antibiotics in
seafood and poultry products.
A recent study published by the American
Society for Microbiology said that MRSA,
the deadly staph infection that presently
plagues hospitals, may have become
resistant to antibiotics because of
unregulated antibiotics to farm animals.
As much as 90% of antibiotics given to
livestock are excreted into the
environment.
Resistance spreads directly by contact
and indirectly through the food chain,
water, air and sludge-fertilized soils. The
broad use of antibiotics in fish food in farm
fishing, particularly overseas, leads to
leaching where it can be washed to other
sites, exposing wild fish to trace amounts
of antibiotics.
SEAFOOD COSTS TO INCREASE WITH START OF TRAWLING
BAN
Mechanised boats across coastal Tamil Nadu will stay ashore,
as the 45-day routine ban on fishing by deep sea trawlers in
the Bay of Bengal waters came into effect on 15th April. The
ban has been enforced to facilitate breeding of fish, and will
remain in force until May 29.
According to traders, even though supply will be hit, the
demand can be partially met with catch from the western
coast (Arabian sea) along Kanyakumari and Kerala coasts. In
the Arabian sea, the ban period will begin ony from 29th May.
Moreover, shallow water fishing using catamarans that are
excluded from the ban will ease the shortage.
Industry experts feel that there would be a slight increase in
the price of seafood, particularly prawns,
crab and fish varieties like vanjiram. A
report in The Times of India said that
fisheries department official have warned
that the licence of fishermen would be
cancelled if they are found fishing in
mechanised boats during the ban period.
Fishermen will compensated during the
ban period with a payment of Rs.2,000 per
family. Usually, fishermen use the ban
period to carry out maintenance and
repair works on their boats.
31
DEEP-SEA FISHING UNDER PRESSURE
correct value of their catch,” said the
president of Association Indian Fisheries
Industry Y. G. K. Murthi.
The indiscriminate dumping of effluents
by industries along the coast, unscientific
fishing methods and the wanton
destruction of mangroves are some other
reasons responsible for the dwindling
catch of various fish species.
The LoP vessels operated by Indian
registered companies catch tuna. With
conventional fishing turning unviable,
several mechanised boats and trawlers
are diversifying into tuna fishing. Trawlers
were the first to opt for tuna long-liners a
decade ago after experts opined that tuna
– most sought after in Japan and South
East Asia for its high nutritional and
medicinal value -- ensures better returns
on investment.
Trawlers are given subsidized loans, but
mechanised boat operators, who spend
Rs.3 lakh per boat for diversifying into
tuna-liners, are demanding easy finance.
Tuna is a highly migratory species and
multiplies fast. In the local market, agents
from Tamil Nadu buy it at Rs.25 to Rs.100
per kg depending on the quality and airlift
it to Chennai for export.
Falling catch, exorbitant rise in operational costs and misuse
of Letter of Permit (LoP) guidelines by foreign vessels are all
are all mounting tremendous pressure on the deep-sea fishing
industry, The Hindu reported.
More than half of around 600 boats are lying idle in the
Visakhapatnam fishing harbour alone, in spite of it being an
important fish-landing centre. Reports also suggest that
around 50 boat-owners who had put up their vessels for sale
almost a year ago have failed to find any takers.
Sometime ago, the representatives from various boat owners'
associations had contemplated fishing holiday on the lines of
the crop holiday observed by some farmers of Konaseema.
The president of Dolphin Boat Operators’ Association has
demanded that the annual conservation to be observed from
15 April to 31 May. They have also consented to observing the
same for an extended duration.
Back in 2009, an order issued by the Ministry of Agriculture
enforcing a two-month conservation period led to strong
protests. However, there is a widespread feeling that a longer
conservation period may brighten prospects of a good catch
next season. During the annual conservation when sea-fish
are not available, the prices of shrimp and other fish caught
from rivers, reservoirs and tanks go up.
“As operation of foreign vessels is banned, some firms from
Taiwan and other countries indulge in benami registration of
their vessels and loot our catch. They engage foreign labour
without visa and indulge in tax evasion by not disclosing the
32
PUNJAB TOPS FISH OUTPUT
The non-coastal state of Punjab has topped India’s fish output,
according to a media report. Recently published statistics on
the state-wise fish output suggests that Punjab topped the
charts in fish productivity at 6,560kg per hectare in the
financial year 2011-2012.
This is the sixth year in a row that Punjab has achieved this
feat. This is no small accomplishment, considering that the
state does not have an inch of marine coastline. This
disadvantage was made up for, by increasing fish farming in
natural water (including rivers like Satluj, Beas, Ravi, Ghaggar)
and village ponds. However, as far as the total annual fish
production is concerned, Punjab’s contribution is a mere
97,000 tonne per year and doesn’t figure even in the top ten
list of fish producing states.
Due to soil salinity and waterlogging, agriculture in Punjab
often means a single crop in a year and that too where soil has
low salt deposits, leading to fishing as alternative farming.
Many farmers are developing infertile land (rendered unfit for
agricultural use), artificial ponds as well as low-lying lands, for
fish farming. Every year, the natural water areas are auctioned,
giving the State a revenue of nearly Rs 2.7 crore.
Depending on the variety of fish chosen for farming, an
average fish farm fetches the owner anything between Rs 1.5
lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh per hectare. The famous Singhara and Sole
varieties grow in natural river water,
whereas, the exotic breeds such as grass
carp, silver carp, common carp and Indian
Rohu, Katla, Mrigal are grown in village
ponds. Procured at Rs 80/kg, the pond
varieties are sold in market at around Rs
100/kg.
The fishing department has decided to
impart training to around 10,000
agriculturalists in the state to equip them
with the hi-tech techniques of fish farming.
For the 2012-2017 five year plan, Rs.
49,875 lakh has been earmarked to
incorporate new techniques in the field of
fish farming. To supplement the efforts of
fish farmers, diversify pisciculture and
ensure a handsome return, the state
government even has plans to focus on
fresh water prawns.
However, the heavily contaminated and
untreated industrial waste and the highly
toxic wastewater has been causing the
death of huge quantities of fish in the
rivers.
CIFT, NAFM ORGANIZES FISHERIES TRAINING IN MANIPUR
The National Association of Fishermen Manipur (NAFM), in
collaboration with the Central Institute of Fishery Technology
(CIFT), organized two phases of training on various aspects of
fisheries, with a view to impart technical knowledge to
villagers.
The first phase of the training programme was from 22nd to
24th March ,and was held at the Uchiwa Kabui village. Around
100 people from the village and nearby places participated in
the training.
The second phase was from 26th to 28th
March, and was held at the Sekmaijin Tribal
village. There were 105 participants.
Experts from CIFT held various sessions
on food processing, value-addition,
hygienic methods, preservation etc., as
part of the trainings.
33
MPEDA TO VENTURE INTO PREMIUM SEAFOOD SECTOR
Riding high on the success of a captive breeding programme
for finfish, the Marine Products Export Development
Authority (MPEDA) is gearing up to enter the booming
export market for premium grade seafood products,
according to a report in The Hindu.
The report says that the MPEDA is preparing to take up
commercial production of sashimi-grade chilled fish. The Rajiv
Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), the research and
development wing of the MPEDA, has developed a technology
for breeding and sea-cage farming of cobia ( Rachycentron
canadrum ), an edible, high-value species of finfish. Cobia is
known for its firm, white, and tasty flesh, making it a preferred
choice for the sashimi, a Japanese seafood delicacy served raw
and thinly sliced.
The report quotes P. Anilkumar, project manager of the
marine finfish hatchery set up by the RGCA at Pozhiyoor in
Thiruvananthapuram, as saying that efforts were on to tie-up
with seafood processors and exporters to manufacture
sashimi-grade chilled fish. The MPEDA has identified resource
persons from Taiwan to impart the techniques for value
addition. European Union standards prescribe stringent
measures like chill killing and bleeding for production of
sashimi-grade fish that fetches more than Rs.280 a kg in the
international market.
At the hatchery, huge tanks hold teeming stocks of juvenile
cobia in different stages of maturity. Seawater is pumped
through underground pipes to the tanks. A re-circulating
system, an array of filters, bioreactors, protein skimmers, and
scavenging bacteria keep the tanks clean.
The hatchery is equipped with facilities for conditioned
spawning of broodstock and intensive larval rearing of cobia in
tanks. It has a strict disease-monitoring and surveillance
system for the caged stock.
Also known as Lemon fish or Ling, the cobia at full growth,
achieved in two years, weighs around 25 kg, though a rare few
are known to have reached 65 kg. The commercial market size
is six to 10 kg in a year. Unlike most fish, the cobia does not
move around in shoals, making it difficult
to be netted in large numbers. But, all over
the world, they are a favourite of anglers.
The few cobia that are caught by local
fishing vessels are sold to upmarket
restaurants and well-heeled customers
for a premium.
Cobia's domesticated natures, better
adaptation to farming environment, and
rapid growth rate have contributed to its
potential for offshore aquaculture. At
present, cobia is cultured in nurseries and
grow-out in offshore cages in China,
Taiwan, Vietnam, the U.S., Mexico, and
Panama.
The technology for captive breeding,
production of cobia seed, and sea cage
farming was developed by the RGCA to
overcome the high juvenile mortality of
the species, which together with over-
exploitation, has resulted in dwindling
natural stocks.
Mr. Anilkumar said the development of
e x p o r t - o r i e n t e d a q u a c u l t u r e
technologies would attract youngsters
from coastal communities to commercial
fish farming and processing. The RGCA is
preparing to take up a breeding
programme for other commercially
important marine fishes.
Besides setting up hatcheries for mud
crab and Seabass at Nagapattinam in Tamil
Nadu, the RGCA has programmes for
domest icat ion of t i ger shr imp,
broodstock development of scampi, an
aquatic quarantine facility at Neelankarai,
Chennai, and projects for Tilapia and
grouper fish.
34
KARNATAKA BUDGET EARMARKS RS. 215 CRORE FOR
FISHERIES
The state budget of Karnataka for 2012-13 has earmarked Rs.
215 crore for the fisheries sector.
According to media reports, the allocation includes funds for
the construction of houses for fishermen, as well as for
projects and programmes aimed at increasing fish production.
Reports say that it also includes funds for the second stage
work on a fisheries harbour in Udupi district.
The state Chief Minister, Mr. D. V. Sadananda Gowda,
presenting the budget said that Rs. 24 crore would be
provided for the construction of 4000 houses for homeless
fishermen.
He added that the quantity of tax-free diesesl would be
increased to 1.25 lakh kilo litres (up from 1 lakh kilo litres in
the previous year’s budget, which was later hiked by 15,000
kilo litres), considering the huge demand for diesel by
mechanised fishing boats.
Announcing that Rs. 10 crore will be provided for upgrading
fish production centres, he remarked that, of the 80 crore
demand for fishlings in the state, only 40 crore was being
produced now. He further stated that
there was an increase of 35 per cent in
fishling production during the last financial
year.
Mr. Gowda also said that Rs. 26 crore
would be provided for the second stage of
the Hejmadi Kodi harbour in Udupi
district.
The total investment of the harbour is
estimated at Rs. 60 crore. He added that
Rs. 4.5 crore would be spent on supplying
life jackets to 30,000 fishermen, and that
insulated boxes costing Rs. 4,000 each
would be supplied to 6,000 fisherwomen
in the state.
The Chief Minister also announced the
plan to construct an oceanarium of
international standards at KRS Brindavana
and at Pilikula in Mangalore, under public-
private partnership.
AQUA FARMERS' MEET HELD IN WAYANAD
An “Aqua Farmers’ Meet” was held in Wayanad, Kerala, last month. The programme was organised by
the Fish Farmers' Development Agency of the Fisheries Department, as a part of the valedictory
ceremony of the ‘Matsyakeralam' project, a five-year fisheries project implemented by the Fisheries
Department in association with local bodies to expand fish farming in the State.
The two-day Meet was inaugurated by the District Collector of Wayanad, Mr. K. Gopalakrishna Bhatt,
at the Collectorate premises on 20th March. Around 400 aqua farmers from all over the district
participated in the programme and shared their experiences. The Meet also included an expert
session on ‘Feasibility of reservoir fisheries in Wayanad.', as well as an awareness class on
‘Ornamental fisheries’.
35
‘STATE FISH’ FOR SEVENTEEN STATES
Seventeen states have adopted species peculiar to their
region, as state fish, according to a report in ‘Tehelka’
magazine.The report says that, as a result of the efforts of the
Lucknow-based National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources
(NBFGR), an institute that works for the development of fish
genetics, seventeen states have adopted fish species peculiar
to their region as their state fish.
The report quoted the director of the fish bureau, Mr. J. K. Jena
as saying that the out of the 2500 species of fish found in India,
2358 were indigenous varieties and 291 were exotic types,
the rest being marine types. He added that with the rise in
river and environmental pollution, the extinction was looming
large over many species of fish.
Mr. Jena further stated that to conserve fish, they had started
sensitising people, institutions and non-government
organisations, adding that seventeen
states had volunteered to name the
important fish of their regions as the state
fish.
Jena said that the scientists of the national
fish bureau had taken up surveys in the
eastern and north-eastern regions of the
country to discover new species. He
remarked that the country was producing
8.13 metric tonne of fish a year, with
freshwater production alone accounting
for 4.1 metric tonne. According to him,
marine, riverine, reservoir and dam fish
production were on the decline because
of climate change.
TAMIL NADU TO PROCURE MID-SEA PROCESSING SHIPS
Tamil Nadu plans to go high-tech in fishing to tap the large
resource in the mid-sea, says a report in The Hindu. Learning
from the techniques used in Denmark, the State Government
plans to procure two mid-sea processing ships — a first in the
country. The report says that while the ships will act as
mother vessels and process the fish caught in high seas, the
baby ships, carrying the processed fish, will shuttle between
the mother vessel and the shore. The biggest advantage is that
the fishermen will be able to sell their catch as soon as they
arrive at the shore.
The ships are being procured at a cost of around Rs 80 crore,
and are likely to be deployed in Bay of Bengal and the Indian
Ocean. A set of baby vessels will also be engaged for
commercial fishing activity in the deep waters and to deposit
the catches in the mid-sea processing units.
Officials in the state Fisheries Department say that with this,
Tamil Nadu will become first State in India to possess mid-sea
fish processing units. Also, the new ships would encourage the
fishermen to exploit the huge fish
resources available in mid-sea. So far, the
fishermen have concentrated only in the
shallow waters where the yield is poor.
The units will act as a value-added export-
oriented park to ensure quality standards
for export and better price to fishermen
for their catch. The project will be taken
up under public-private partnership,
according to officials. The Fisheries
Department will prepare a feasibility
report to procure the two ships. The
Government will appoint a technically
competent agency to assisting in the
project. The Department will appoint a
consultant to prepare the feasibility
report through international bidding.
36
HYBRID GUIDE LIGHTS FOR FISHERMEN AT NIGHT
The Fisheries Department has decided to install 10 hybrid
guide lights in fishing hamlets of coastal Tamil Nadu to enable
fishermen to reach their destinations at night with ease.
Fishermen set out for sail, keeping major lighthouses as an
identification mark. Due to lack of proper lighting system and
high winds, they often land a few km away from their
destinations. Hence, they sought the help of Fisheries
Department.
Hearing about a cost-effective hybrid system installed at
TTDC's Raindrop Boat House in Mudaliarkuppam some
three years ago, the officials of Fisheries Department
approached Coimbatore-based Viviann Electric. The firm
developed three devices which have been functioning at
Panaiyur Chinnakuppam in Kancheepuram district,
Tranquebar near Nagapattinam and Somanathan Pattinam in
Thanjavur district since January 2011.
The device uses both solar and wind energy and enables
fishermen to reach their destination on time and without any
difficulty. These solar and wind hybrid guide lights comprising
LEDs with 40 watts capacity and 500 watts wind generator,
are visible several kilometres from the shore. Coast Guard
officials also started using them as a landmark, said the
sources.
Recently, the Fisheries Department decided to cover 10 more
fishing hamlets and floated a tender
during November 2011. There were two
bidders and the Viviann Electric bagged
the contract.
The hybrid lights would be installed in
Kadapakkam, Kancheepuram district;
Ekkiyarkuppam, Villupuram district;
Mudasalodai , Cuddalore district;
Eripurakkarai , Thanjavur district;
Chinnangudi, Nagapattinam district;
Arcottuthurai, Nagapattinam district;
Vadakku Ammapattinam, Pudukottai
district; Kombuthurai, Thoothukudi
d i s t r i c t ; M a n d a p a m S o u t h ,
R a m a n a t h ap u r a m d i s t r i c t a n d
Enayanputhenthurai, Kanniyakumari
district.
Talking to The Hindu , the company's
managing director B.K. Shivakumar said,
“During night times, this device will
provide light and during the day times it
guides ships to nearest point as it is
equipped with future-ready technology.”
“Unlike old lighthouses, we do not need
diesel or generator to keep this device
operational. Traditional lighthouses
need at least a handful of workers to
man it. But, our system does not need
manual intervention and the
operating cost is low. We will
complete the installation of new guide
lights within two months. We feel that
Tamil Nadu needs at least 100 more
guide lights,” said Viviann chairman
Vimal A. Vincent.
Source: The Hindu
37
SCIENTISTS’ EFFORTS DIRECT FISHERMEN TOWARDS CATCH
Scientists in Versova, Maharashtra, are testing the waters to
see if Mumbai can be turned into a Gold Coast of sorts,
according to a report in the Times of India.
The report says that, every morning, the scientists try to map
out areas in the sea where fishermen might find more schools
of fish that day. Findings are then updated on the community
notice board at the jetty, which fishermen check before
embarking on their fishing trips. This way, they get to know
which direction to head, for a bigger catch.
According to the scientists who are conducting these tests,
fishermen who use this facility net double the volume of fish
than they did before. They also claim to be helping the
fishermen save precious diesel that is subsidized by the
government.
This World Bank funded project is headed by Dr. Veerendra
Veer Singh, principal scientist at the Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI) at Versova. The project is being
undertaken jointly by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR), Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, and a private
service provider in Mumbai.
Elaborating on the project, Dr. Singh said that daily updates
disseminated by the expert team were received by fishermen
through GPS technology adapted to mobile phones. Mobile
phones have been distributed in 13
villages along the Maharashtra coast,
particularly in Raigad district.
The phones had been given to village
heads, who relay information to the
c o m m u n i t y. C o m m u n i t y l e v e l
coordinators, who have been trained to
decode the diagrams and graphs, help
them to update the notice board each
morning.
Dr. Singh added that each day, they
gathered data and satellite images from
INCOIS to prepare a forecast for early
warning of storms and weather data. They
would also map out locations where fish
may be available, by assessing water
surface temperature, wind velocity and
chlorophyll, which indicates fish food.
The report says that around 1,900
fishermen in Maharashtra are said to
utilize the benefits of this innovation,
particularly in the eco-sensitive Raigad,
where load-shedding hampers reception
of weather advisories through television,
facsimile or digital boards. The grant-in-aid
project was started in April 2010 under
the World Bank Global Environment
Facility (GEF) Project.
Dr. Singh said that the effort had been
designed to mitigate perceived future
climatic risks. He also said that they had
identi f ied 75 f ishing vi l lages in
Maharashtra, whose fish-drying platforms,
auction zones or net-mending areas that
are on the beach could be inundated by a
1m rise in the sea level in around 10 to 30
years if the glaciers continue to melt.
38
CAGE CULTURE FACES RARE SETBACK IN ANKOLA
The cage culture for breeding prawns introduced with much
fanfare in Keni village of Ankola taluk in Karnataka in 2010 has
failed to yield desired results, the Times of India reported last
month. The report says that the experiment has led to heavy
loss to many fishermen in the area.
It was the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
(CMFRI), which had introduced the technology for
sustainable use of fish resources to augment production
during lean period, especially monsoon. Two such cages were
placed in Keni, which was the first place in Karnataka where
the CMFRI introduced cage culture fishing. The responsibility
of maintenance was vested with the local Fishermen
Developmental Forum. An official of the state fisheries
department revealed that, after the experimental method in
Keni, net cages were introduced in three other places in the
state. In the beginning, about Rs 1.50 lakh prawns died due to
excess feeding. A total of 32 fishermen of the village were
working round the clock in two boats to
provide food to the prawns.After the
death of prawns, one of the net cages was
shifted to Karwar. To set up each net cage,
the government had spent about Rs10
lakh, said an official of CMFRI.
However, Fisheries Department officials
said that Keni was an exceptional case,
and that cage fishing was successful in the
other areas of Karnataka which had
adopted the practice.Alleging that the
efforts of those who had worked for the
project had gone futile, Chandrakant
Balegar, president of the fishermen
developmental forum demanded
compensation from the government.
MID-SEA PROTEST FORCES BARGE TO RETREAT
A mid-sea protest was carried out by the Karavali Traditional
Fishermen’s Association on 22nd March, against the plan to fix
affluent pipeline from MSEZ in the Mukka area of Karnataka.
The protestors alleged that the proposed placing of MSEZ
and MRPL pipelines to release effluents in the sea would cause
widespread killing of fish, seriously affecting the livelihoods of
as many as 5000 fishermen. They also said that the pipelines
would cause damages to the fishermen’s nets.
The fishermen took out their traditional boats from
Meenakaliya to the spot where the pipeline would be laid in
Mukka, and surrounded the barge and the boat accompanying
it. As many as 150 fishermen in 17 boats took part in the
protest.
Addressing the gathering, Karavali Traditional Fishermen’s
Sangha President, Vasudeva B K said that the fishermen would
not allow the authorities to fix the pipeline. He threatened to
escalate protests, in case their concerns
were not given due weightage. He
stressed that the fishermen were
essentially demanding that they be given
proper information about the nature of
the effluents that would be dumped into
the sea. He urged the companies to clarify
the exact nature of the effluents they
would be duping into the sea.
In his speech, the vice president of the
Fishermen’s Association, Vamana Amin
said that if the authorities concerned
continued to allow more pipelines,
traditional fishermen wouldn’t be able to
survive.
39
Fishermen in Kerala, under the aegis of the Matsya Thozhilali
Aikyavedi has protested against what it called inadequate
provisions in the State Budget 2012-13 for security,
strengthening of the cooperatives and debt relief, The Hindu
reported.
The president of the Aikyavedi, Charles George is reported to
have said that the budget is a big disappointment, pointing out
that security for the fishermen had seen only an allocation of
Rs.2 crore. He termed this as inadequate, citing that the basic
security kit for a fishing boat required about Rs.20,000 a unit.
He added that there were around 35,000 mechanised boats in
operation in the state.The budget has not accommodated the
comprehensive plans for the security of the fishermen,
suggested by organizations such as the Aikyavedi. Suggestions
included unified identity for all the fishing boats and use of
latest technology.
Among the other points of discontent is that the budget had
set aside just Rs.3 crore for improving landings from inland
fisheries, which is not enough for the sector, which needs a
widespread effort to improve the marketing infrastructure.
Charles George also pointed out that the
budget has identified only 50 marketing
centers for modernisation, whereas, there
are 185 wholesale centres and 2,518 retail
centres in the State, most of which need
better facilities.
According to the report, the budget also
mentions just 10 harbours that will be
modernised and it has allocated Rs.20
crore for the works. However, the
Harbour Engineering Department had
submitted a Rs.11.75-crore plan for the
Vypeen harbour alone.
Charles George told media persons that
the cooperative sector required
strengthening, for the welfare of the
fisherfolk and for the revival of the
fisheries sector, and that the Debt Relief
Commission's recommendations had to
been taken seriously.
FISH MARKETS TO COME UP IN COASTAL KARNATAKA
Around 20 fish markets are to be constructed by the
Karnataka Coastal Area Development Authority (KCADA) in
the next fiscal, according to media reports.
This was revealed by the Chairman of KCADA, Mr. B. Nagaraja
Shetty, while speaking at a function to disburse loans to
fisherwomen at three per cent interest rate. The Chairman
revealed that steps had been taken to construct 10 fish
markets in coastal Karnataka during the current financial year.
The financial assistance for the construction of fish markets is
being provided by the National Fisheries Development Board.
Mr. Shetty said that an additional 20 fish markets were planned
to be constructed during the next financial year. He further
said that KCADA had plans to improve all the 800 fish
markets along coastal Karnataka. He thanked the
Corporation Bank for extending loans to fisherwomen at
three per cent interest rate, and urged the
borrowers to be prompt in repayment.
He said that the bank had already been
extending loans to fishermen for
improving fisheries activity, including loans
for mechanised fishing boats, fishing nets
and various other needs.
He also remarked that the Karnataka
Budget for 2012-13 has proposed to
increase the supply of tax-free diesel to
fishermen from 1.15 lakh kilo litres in
2011-12 to 1.25 lakh kilo litres during
2012-13.
40
ODISHA: DRY FISH PROCESSING CENTRE TO BE SET UP IN
PARADIP AT COST OF Rs. 10 CORES
As local dry fish traders are producing unhygienic dry fish by
preserving on chemical process so its consumption is
dangerous to human health as a preservative used in dry fish is
highly toxic. Realizing it, fishery department has planned to set
up modern dry fish processing centre in Paradip to procure
hygienic dry fish in this locality.
Sources said that thousands of families including Telgu and
Bengali have been operating dry fish trade in Paradip area
since generations. They have been produced variety of dry
fishes by preserving chemical process causing serious threat
to human being. Instead of using salt as a natural preservative,
the produce is being chemically processed. In this manner,
those who relish the mouth-watering dry fish curry were
exposing themselves to possible food poisoning, skin diseases
and other stomach trouble.
Locals have alleged that use of toxic chemicals for dry fish
processing has brought panic among the dry fish eater so they
have feared to use intoxicated dry fish causing dangerous to
health. In last year, the marine fisheries received allegation the
use of chemical in dry fish processing so department had
clamped prohibitory orders on use of any form of chemical
for processing dry fish.
The raid and consequent seizure of toxic dry fish has come in
the wake of reports of indiscriminate use of toxic substances
by dry fish manufacturers to preserve their produce. Health
experts have also opined that intake of chemical-processed
dry fish would have adverse affect on human health.
Taking this matter seriously, marine fishery department has
planned to set up modern dry fish centre to procure hygienic
dry fish on natural process. This centre is not only procuring
hygienic dry fish but to export quality dry fish other states and
foreign countries to meet the requirement of dry fish eater.
Department officials have decided to send the proposal of this
centre to state and union government for its approval.Marine
fishery officials' sources said 'a training centre will be
operating the local women to procure the
hygienic dry fish in natural process and its
preservation. This training center will
work under this modern dry fish centre.
Dry fishes will be dried on natural process
so department has planned to set up solar
driers to dry different types of fishes on
natural process.
This centre has aimed to procure 5 tones
of dry fish per day in which 400 people
including women will get employment on
it. After procurement, different variety of
dry fishes will be exported to other states
and foreign countries.
The demand of dry fish is high in western
Odisha like Rourkela, Anugul, Sambalpur,
Bargarh and other parts of western
Odisha so the product will be
transported to these areas and other
states. Fishermen communities from
Paradip and other areas of Jagatsinghpur
and Kendrapara district will be benefited.
Assistant director of fisheries (marine),
Kujanga Mr. Rabi Narayan Pattnaik said
'we seek the support of the experts of
Marine Product Export Development
Authority for proper implementation of
this project in Para dip. We have estimated
to spend Rs 10 cores for said center and
its project proposal to be sent to the
government for its approval shortly. The
venue of this centre has not yet finalized'.
He added.
Source: Odisha Diary
41
Recommended Reading
OVERFISHING: WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW
Over the past twenty years considerable public attention has
been focused on the decline of marine fisheries, the
sustainability of world fish production, and the impacts of
fishing on marine ecosystems. Many have voiced their
concerns about marine conservation, as well as the
sustainable and ethical consumption of fish. But are fisheries in
danger of collapse? Will we soon need to find ways to replace
this food system? Should we be worried that we could be
fishing certain species to extinction? Can commercial fishing
be carried out in a sustainable way? While overblown
prognoses concerning the dire state of fisheries are plentiful,
clear scientific explanations of the basic issues surrounding
overfishing are less so - and there remains great confusion
about the actual amount of overfishing
and its ecological impact.
“Overfishing: What Everyone Needs to
Know” wil l provide a balanced
explanation of the broad issues associated
with overfishing. Guiding readers through
the scientific, political, economic, and
ethical issues associated with harvesting
fish from the ocean, it will provide
answers to questions about which
fisheries are sustainably managed and
which are not.
Ray and Ulrike Hilborn address topics
including historical overfishing, high seas
fisheries, recreational fisheries, illegal
fishing, climate and fisheries, trawling,
economic and biological overfishing, and
marine protected areas. In order to
illustrate the effects of each of these
issues, they will incorporate case studies
of different species of fish.
Overall, the authors present a hopeful
view of the future of fisheries. Most of the
world's fisheries are not overfished, and
many once overfished stocks are now
rebuilding. In fact, we can learn from the
management failures and successes to
ensure that fisheries are sustainable and
contribute to national wealth and food
security. Concise and clear, this book
presents a compelling "big picture" of the
state of oceans and the solutions to
ending overfishing.
Authors: Ray Hilborn & Ulrike Hilborn
42
Related Documents
