An entrepreneur working in the area of shrimp farming has urged fish farmers to explore the opportunities in brackish water shrimp farming in the country.

Speaking at a webinar on aquaculture, organised as part of the National Fish Farmers’ Day by Mangaluru-based College of Fisheries, on Friday, Manoj Sharma, Managing Director of Gujarat-based Mayank Aquaculture Pvt Ltd, said that shrimp farming can be taken up on around 97 lakh hectares of water bodies in the country. As of now, around two lakh hectares of water bodies have been developed under shrimp farming.

He said the country’s shrimp production stood at eight lakh tonnes during 2019. The country exported around ₹38,000 crore worth of shrimps during this period, he said.

Referring to Gujarat, he said, the state has around 3.76 lakh hectares of potential area for brackish water shrimp farming, of which around 75,000 hectares has been developed.

Gujarat’s shrimp production stood at 55,000 tonnes with a turnover of around ₹2,500 crore during 2019, he said.

Highlighting some of the key factors of shrimp farming development in his state, Sharma said it has helped convert waste land to productive land, and provided employment opportunities to many.

On the job opportunities in this sector, he said, the existing two lakh hectares of developed area under shrimp farming requires around 19,730 people in various verticals of shrimp farming.

Speaking on the occasion, A Senthil Vel, Dean of the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru, said that fishermen in the country are continuing to feed the people in spite of the pandemic.

He said the college will set up a skill development centre in Mangaluru. The proposed centre will help train and bring on board the unemployed and illiterate people from the fisheries sector.

K Srinivasa Poojary, Karnataka Fisheries Minister, inaugurated the webinar.

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