The Hindu Business Line : Centre for sustainable aquaculture to be set up

Cluster approach is necessary to promote sustainable aquaculture and the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is setting up the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture here to help meet this objective, according to Mr G. Mohana Kumar, the Chairman.

After participating in the first governing council meeting of the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture here on Thursday, he told reporters that the centre was likely to function "from the last week of November or the first week of December. We are searching for suitable premises."

"We will encourage aqua farmers to form clubs or associations, with memberships ranging from 20 to 80, and register them with the MPEDA. We will provide each club or society with seed money of Rs 5 lakh initially and lend technical support. The societies can employ technicians and we will bear half the salary for the initial two years," he explained.

The National Centre, based in Kakinada, will have branches in other states. "The cluster approach, tried experimentally in West Godavari district, has worked well. There are at present 19 aqua clubs in Andhra Pradesh and 28 in the country. They will be registered. During the current year, we want to form at least 50 societies. We have a budgetary allocation of Rs 1.25 crore for the purpose," he said.

He said the MPEDA Chairman would head the governing council of the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture, ex officio, and the Deputy Director of the MPEDA regional office in Vijayawada would be the chief executive. "It is basically a society, not a cooperative one, attached to the MPEDA and all stakeholders will have representation in the council," he said.

Mr Kumar said Andhra Pradesh stood first in shrimp culture but the main challenge was in making it sustainable in the long term.

Mr P. Sundara Kumar, the State fisheries commissioner, said, "AP currently has nine lakh tonnes of fisheries production and we want to cross the million mark in three years. The setting up of the National Fisheries Board in Hyderabad and the National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture are positive steps in that direction," he said.