The Hindu : Separate dept. for fisheries on the anvil: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 13, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Separate dept. for fisheries on the anvil: Minister

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI Sept. 12. The Union Government would pay special attention to ornamental fish farming in the coming days. A separate department for fisheries was also on the anvil, according to the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, P.C. Thomas.

Addressing the delegates during the inaugural session of a seminar on `Parallel farming of ornamental fish and vanilla crop', here today, Mr. Thomas said the country was yet to tap the export potential of this sector.

The three-day seminar is being organised by the Kerala Ornamental Fish Society (KOFISH). Kerala was contributing to only 20 per cent of the total production in this sector. West Bengal was leading in ornamental fish farming and exports with a 50 per cent share. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were the other States which were doing well in this field. The country accounted for only a paltry Rs. 31 crores of the Rs. 25,000-crore world trade in ornamental fish, he said.

The Minister said the Marine Products Export Development Agency was looking into ornamental fish farming, basically to improve exports.

He felt that ornamental fish farming should be promoted as an agribusiness. Entrepreneurs would benefit if both ornamental fish farming and vanilla cultivation were taken up jointly, he said. Products from both ventures were extremely remunerative, he added.

In his presidential address, the director of MPEDA, J. Bojan, said ornamental fish farming was a hobby-cum-enterprise of both the rich as well as the poor. He said there was a vast market for export, with major importers being the European Union, Japan, and the U.S.

Ornamental fish was the latest focus in the export market here, he added. MPEDA had quite a few subsidy schemes and would also be imparting new techniques in ornamental fish farming by requisitioning experts from other nations.

Earlier, Sebastian J. Kuravamveli, president, KOFISH, welcomed the delegates. The former Director of Agriculture, R. Hali, also spoke on the occasion. Elias Josephai, vice-president, KOFISH, proposed a vote of thanks.

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