The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR CIFT) launched the campaign to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Indian independence as 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.' Experts emphasized the importance of fish as a nutritious food for humans and in reducing societal malnutrition at a national campaign on 'Fish for Health and Prosperity.'
Concerned about the decline of thriving marine fishery industries, KN Raghavan, Chairman of the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA), suggested aquaculture as an emerging sector that could meet the majority of consumer demand for fish. He was speaking at the campaign's launch.
Raghavan also emphasized the major issues contributing to ocean famine, which affects the livelihoods of millions of fishers and the availability of cheap and nutritious fish. He urged people to work together to solve these problems in order to save the planet.
Leela Edwin, Director of CIFT, emphasized the importance of fish consumption, its current state in the country, and the nutritional value of fish. She summarised CIFT's major accomplishments, contributions to sustainable fishing, and role as a pioneer in fishery business incubation.
Shivakumar Magada, Dean of the College of Fisheries in Mangalore, highlighted the efforts under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), which could lead to India producing 20 million tonnes of fish by 2025. He also praised CIFT for its foresight and outstanding contributions to fish processing and nutraceutical development.
Price disparities for fish across markets, as well as the minimum scale of economies for fishery entrepreneurship units in comparison to major agricultural and horticultural products, were also discussed.
As policy implications, Chadag V Mohan, Principal Scientist, World Fish, Malaysia, recommended the successful inclusion of aquatic foods in daily diets through various schemes. He proposed integrating nutrition-sensitive fish-agri-food systems and shared some success stories of WFC projects in Odisha and other parts of the world that used small indigenous fish to intervene in fish-based nutrition.
More than 1,200 participants from various ICAR Institutes, College of Fisheries, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and other research organisations, including scientists, students, academicians, researchers, extension professionals, and other stakeholders, took part in both offline and online modes.
