Tilapia Aquaculture Project

The Tilapia Aquaculture Project with Israeli Technology has received funding from the Technology Development Board (TDB), which was motivated by the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

The Ministry of Science and Technology is home to the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory organization.

What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is the managed process of raising aquatic organisms, especially those intended for human consumption.

• As per FAO of the United Nations claims aquaculture is the farming of aquatic animals like fish, molluscs, crabs, and plants. In order to increase productivity, farming usually involves some type of intervention, such as frequent stocking, feeding, predator protection, etc.

• This type of farming also entails the planning, creation, and management of aquaculture locations, facilities, and techniques, as well as the production and transportation of the stock being produced by an individual or business.

What is Tilapia?

• One of the most successful and widely traded fish foods in the world is tilapia, sometimes known as aquatic chicken.
• Because of its fast development and simple cultivation, tilapia has gained commercial popularity throughout the world and earned the moniker "aquatic chicken."
• Tilapia can be raised in ponds or cage systems, salt or brackish water, and in a number of other aquaculture conditions.

State of Fisheries in India

• In marine, coastal, and inland environments, fishing is the capturing of aquatic species.
• Millions of people throughout the world receive food, nourishment, and a source of money from marine and inland fisheries as well as aquaculture, which includes harvesting, processing, marketing, and distribution.
• It also plays a role in many people's traditional cultural identities.
• Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is one of the biggest challenges to the sustainability of the world's fisheries resources.

Relevance:

• Among the primary producing sectors, fishing has one of the fastest expanding economies.
• The second-largest producer of fish in the world, India accounts for 7.56% of worldwide production, 1.24% of the nation's Gross Value Added (GVA), and more than 7.28% of its agricultural GVA.
• Fish exports from India rank fourth in the world.
• The sector, also known as the "Sunrise Sector," is crucial to the economic and general development of the nation and is in a position to unleash enormous potential through inclusive and fair growth.
• The industry is acknowledged as a strong engine for employing 14.5 million people and sustaining the life of the nation's 28 million fishermen.

Three significant changes have occurred in the fishing industry over the past few years:

• the expansion of freshwater aquaculture in inland waters.
• the mechanization of fishing for a catch especially in the Western waters.
• the start of brackish water shrimp aquaculture with success.

Challenges:

• Nearly 90% of the world's marine fish populations, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), are either completely exploited, overfished, or so severely depleted that a biological recovery may not be conceivable.
• Discharge of waste and other hazardous materials into waterways has a disastrous effect on aquatic life.
• Climate change and global warming also impact the marine ecosystem.
• India in particular faces problems in the form of outdated technology, lack of infrastructure for processing and heterogeneity in the variety of fishes, and poor financial and technical support to the coastal communities.

Reforms were undertaken by the Government

The following are some of the significant reforms and actions the Union Government has done to fully realize the potential of the fishing industry in a sustainable and accountable manner and to launch the "Blue Revolution" in fishing.

• The establishment within the Union Government of a separate Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy.
• establishing a fresh, committed Department of Fisheries with a separate administrative framework.
• Implementation of 2015–2019 Centrally Sponsored Blue Revolution Scheme: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries.
• Establishing a fund for the development of infrastructure for fishing and aquaculture (FIDF).
• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana's debut (PMMSY).

Blue Revolution

Vision

The goal of the Neel Kranti Mission is to develop fisheries in a sustainable manner while taking biosecurity and environmental concerns into consideration, with the goal of achieving economic prosperity for the nation, fishers, and fish farmers, as well as helping to ensure food and nutritional security.

Comprehensive development

• Its goal is to establish an environment that will allow the nation's fisheries to reach their full potential through integrated development.
• Enhancing financial standing It tries to do so while taking sustainability, biosecurity, and environmental concerns

The goals include:

• Increasing global fish output in a sustainable and responsible manner to promote economic prosperity.
• to update the fishing industry, paying particular attention to new technology
• To ensure nutritional and food security
• to create jobs and gain money from exports
• To promote inclusive growth and support aquaculture and fishing farmers

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

It is a flagship program for the country's targeted and sustainable growth of the fisheries industry, and as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, its implementation is expected to cost $20,050 crore.

Aims

• to expand India's fisheries industry sustainably and responsibly in order to bring about the Blue Revolution.
• To increase fisheries export revenue to Rs. 1,000,000 crores by 2024–2025 by boosting fish output by an extra 70 lakh tonnes.
• to increase prospects for gainful employment in the sector while doubling the incomes of fishers and fish farmers and cutting post-harvest losses from 20 to 25 per cent to roughly 10 per cent.

Implementation

• It will be carried out as an umbrella program with two distinct parts, namely
• The Central Government will cover the project's costs under the Central Sector Scheme.
• Scheme Centrally Sponsored The States/UTs will carry out all of the supporting elements and activities, and the Centre and States will split the associated costs.
• For the efficient planning and implementation of PMMSY, a well-structured implementation framework would be built.
• The "Cluster or area-based strategy" would be used, with the necessary forward and backward connections and end-to-end solutions, for the best results.

Intended benefits of the scheme

• This plan will close significant gaps in fish quality, post-harvest infrastructure and management, logistics, and output and productivity.
• For the benefit of international trade, it will increase the accessibility of certified high-quality fish seed and feed.
• The program aids in improved fish traceability and efficient control of aquatic health.
• About 15 lakh fishermen, fish farmers, fish traders, and other rural and urban people will have direct employment prospects in fishing as a result.
• This will raise the competitiveness of fish and fishery products as well as investments from governments and private parties in the fishing industry. By 2024, the program will also contribute to tripling the wages of fish farmers and fish workers.

Conclusion

Therefore, the industry exhorts the nation's young entrepreneurs to step forward and propose solutions, resolving real-world problems through technological interventions and creative ideas.

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