Aquaculture vital for meeting growing demand for fish

Aquaculture is the only option available to meet the growing demand for fish in the domestic market, according to Baskaran Manimaran, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, Nagapattinam.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Strategies for bridging the yield gap in fisheries and aquaculture’ at College of Fisheries in Mangalore on Monday, he said there was around 40% shortage in fish supply in 2012-13.

Stagnation

Stating that marine fisheries sector is near stagnation, he said inshore waters have been exploited to sustainable levels. Added to this, the fishing fleet is under-equipped for targeted fishing in deep sea.

“Under these circumstances, fish farming is the only option to meet the demand. This includes both coastal aquaculture and inland/freshwater aquaculture,” he said.