Strategy to increase export of fish and fishery products from India

In India, fisheries provide full-time job for 6 million fishermen and fish farmers, and earn foreign exchange equivalent to 47,000 million rupees, Shr imps, crabs, lobsters, squids and finfishes constitute major items of our e xport; these were previously sent dried and canned but presently in frozen form; increasingly, live fishes are being now exported. Strategies for incr easing fisheries export, processed at a cheaper cost, in a value-added form , for a higher unit price are suggested. Scope for expanding capture (offsh ore and deep-sea) fisheries, and intensive but eco-friendly culture fisheri es including exotic fishes is explained. Importance of maintaining high sta ndards of hygiene at the collection and processing centres is highlighted. For the quantum export earning, budget allocation by the Central Government for fisheries development is woefully low (0.3% of the total outlay), and for research development is also low (6% of the ICAR budget outlay), The ur gent need for the formation of a separate Ministry for Fisheries in the Cen tral Government, and strategies for overall developmental fisheries are emp hasized.