Seafood exporters await Tamil Nadu policy for better catch

CHENNAI: Much before the lockdown, a marine food exporter from Chennai bumped into state fisheries minister D Jayakumar on a flight from Delhi to Chennai. "How is the industry doing," asked the minister, in all keenness. "It is doing very well sir, in every other state except Tamil Nadu," the exporter replied. "We will do something," the minister promised. While the industry continues to wait, the conversation sums up the state of the seafood industry in Tamil Nadu.
The marine products export industry has had an appreciable performance over the past decade, registering a growth of 500% during the period and clocking an estimated turnover of Rs 50,000 crore last financial year, Seafood Exporters’ Association of India said in a recent letter to Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal.Of this, around 65% comes from shrimps, with Andhra Pradesh alone accounting for 70% of that.
Tamil Nadu, which has the second longest coastline in the country after Gujarat, has remained a small player with an insignificant share, with industry estimates ranging from Rs 4,000 crore – Rs 5,000 crore, thanks to some of the export consignment papers moving through authorities in Chennai. "Beyond the geographical reasons like limited or near absence of perennial riverine areas and brackish water sources, there is lack of focus on the part of the state government as well as entrepreneurial spirit among rural farmers in the coastal belt," feel experts from the marine food industry.
"Indian marine food exports have the potential to touch Rs 1 lakh crore by 2025. With West Bengal and Odisha joining Andhra Pradesh to focus on shrimp cultivation and exports, it is high time Tamil Nadu gets the much needed focus to grab this industry’s growth opportunity," said Elias Sait, secretary general, Seafood Exporters’ Association of India.
According to the industry, there is a need for more proactive measures from the state including land allotment and numbering. "Saleability of shrimps is linked to its traceability. The state has the potential to make this a Rs10,000-crore industry, from the present Rs4,000 crore if it gets into the act," Sait said.
In the late 1980s and 1990s, Tamil Nadu indulged in scientific farming of shrimps, but lost focus somewhere down the route, with lack of perennial rivers, brackish water and creeks adding to the problem. The state could have focused in a different way with sea water-based farming. "While the state government could have unveiled a policy for aquaculture, the social atmosphere too was not conducive as one gets closer to the coast. Unlike Andhra Pradesh, the farmers were not ready to take risks," said D Ramraj, president, All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association (AISHA).
While the acreage under shrimp cultivation exceeds 1.5 lakh acres in Andhra Pradesh, it is not more than 15,000 acres in Tamil Nadu. "We don’t have much brackish water here, while just one creek in Nellore offers shrimp farming opportunities nearly 25,000 acres. In Tamil Nadu, we need to identify zones for shrimp farming and create common infrastructure for farmers," Ramraj added.
The industry generally seems to be wary about the increasing demands for cash, which at times gets to extortion levels, from the locals in Tamil Nadu coast. "Shrimp farming is a legal and legitimate act. But, the situation on the ground is totally different with locals (fishing communities). They find hatchery operators to be easy prey. They disrupt the pipeline to bring seawater time and again. It was there 15 years ago and has grown to be a bigger issue recently," says Ravi Kumar Yellanki, a leading shrimp hatchery operator and former president of Society of Aquaculture Professionals.
A senior government official with the state’s Fisheries department denied lack of a conducive atmosphere. "Extortion is only a perception. Whenever we get information, we inform police and action is taken," the official said, on condition of anonymity. "We are coming out with an aquaculture policy for the state soon. There is going to be a national policy on aquaculture and our policy will be in tandem to it. Tamil Nadu exported around Rs 5,500 crore of seafood last year (2018-19)," the official said.