Odisha Records 747% Growth In Brackish Water Aquaculture; Seafood Exports Rise

Bhubaneswar: The brackish water aquaculture in Odisha has marked a whopping growth of 747 % in the last 10 years with a concomitant increase in the value of seafood exports from the state.

Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management, Bishnupada Sethi outlined the existing land leasing provisions for commercial brackish aquaculture in the state a a high-level virtual meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra.

Secretary, Fisheries and Animal Resource Development, R Raghu Prasad said there was significant growth in the sector over last 10 years because of constant persuasion and facilitation.

The production of brackish water fish increased from 11,460 MT in the 2011-12 to 97,125 MT in 2020-21 thereby marking a record growth of 747.51%.

Similarly, the area under brackish water aquaculture also increased from 5860 hectare to 17,780 hectare during the same period.

Concomitantly, the sea food export value from Odisha also increased from Rs 801 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 3,107 crore in 2020-21 despite the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19, he said. The quantum of export in 2011-12 was around 21,311 MT which increased to 60,718 MT in 2020-21.

Odisha sea food has caught the global market, more particularly in Japan, China, countries in USA, European Union, South East Asia and Middle East, said Prasad.

The Chief Secretary directed the departments of Revenue and Disaster Management, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development, Forest and Environment and IDCO to work out a dynamic and facilitating policy for taping the available potential of Brackish water aquaculture.

IDCO was directed to identify the potential land in different districts and develop a land bank for the purpose in close coordination with fishery officers and respective collectors. IDCO will also identify land in clusters and develop facilities like saline water drainage, road and power connectivity for building aquaculture parks.

Additional Chief Secretary, Forest and Environment, Dr Mona Sharma was also present.