Seafood exports hit record high last year, says Union Minister

Chennai seafood exports have more than doubled in 9 yrs to ₹63,969 cr. A seaweed park at ₹2,700 cr is being set up in TN. 16 regional fisheries bodies from Indo-Pacific region discussed merging fishing ban along east & west coast. FAO & India to work together to fulfil SDGs. Global Fisheries Conf. 2023 to be held in Ahmedabad on World Fisheries Day.

Seafood exports have more than doubled in the last nine years, with record exports to the tune of ₹63,969 crore in 2022-23, said Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

He was speaking at the inaugural of a conclave on mainstreaming climate change into international fisheries governance and strengthening fisheries management measures in the Indo-Pacific region. 

“The impact of climate change on fisheries is already being felt worldwide and it is expected to become more severe in the future,” Mr. Rupala said. To offer livelihood opportunities in the seaweed sector, a multipurpose seaweed park at a cost of ₹2,700 crore is being set up in Tamil Nadu . The authorities are discussing possibilities of merging the fishing ban along the east and west coast based on demands from fishing communities in the eastern coast, he said.

Officials from 16 regional fisheries bodies from the Indo-Pacific region representing over 80 countries are participating in the two-day conclave organised by the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Chennai.

Speaking at the event, Takayuki Hagiwara, FAO Representative in India, said there were several areas that FAO and India could work together. “However, we are behind on SGDs [sustainable development goals],” he said. With biodiversity loss, degradation of natural resources and socio-political causes standing in the way of fulfilling the SDGS, the FAO was working with India to get back on the right course of action, he noted.

Piero Mannini, Senior Fisheries Officer, FAO; Darius Campbell, Chair of the Regional Fisheries Bodies Secretariat Network; P Krishnan, Director, BOBP-IGO; Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Fisheries Department; Neetu Prasad, Joint Secretary, Fisheries Department were present.

It was announced that the first edition of Global Fisheries Conference 2023 would be held in Ahmedabad on November 21 on the occasion of World Fisheries Day.