Dr Akhil Gupta
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a looming crisis for the global and Indian economies. As per the IMF projections, India’s GDP is projected to grow at 1.9%, which has since been downgraded to 0.2-0.5 per cent by several rating agencies. One of the most serious impacts is expected to be on food security.
Fisheries is a fast-growing sector in India, which provides nutrition and food security to a large population of the country besides providing income and employment to more than 14.5 million people. Even as growth in agriculture sector remains a challenge for the Government, due to fluctuating growth in sectors like crop, livestock and forestry from 2014-15 to 2017-18, fisheries sector has grown rapidly from 4.9 per cent in 2012-13 to 11.9 per cent in 2017-18. Fish and fish product exports emerged as the largest group in agricultural exports and in value terms accounted for Rs. 47,620 crore in 2018-19.
India is the second largest fish producer in the world with a total production of 13.7 million metric tonnes in 2018-19 of which 65 percent was from inland sector. Almost 50 percent of inland fish production is from culture fisheries, which constitutes 6.5 percent of global fish production. The sector has been showing a steady growth in the total gross value added and accounts for 5.23 per cent share of agricultural GDP. The 2018-19 Economic Survey highlighted: “Foreseeing the vast resource potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector, a separate Department of Fisheries was created in February 2019″. The Government has merged all the schemes of fisheries Sector into an umbrella scheme of ‘Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries’ focusing on increasing fish production and productivity from aquaculture and fisheries resources, both inland and marine.”
Ensuring Food Security
Feeding a growing world population could become problematic, but aquaculture might hold the key. If humans are anything, we are resourceful. We see a problem with the world, and we do what we can to fix it. When being nomadic and following food sources was no longer sustainable, we solved the problem by developing agriculture. Currently, as the population continues to grow and our taste for aqua/seafood increases, we’re trying to find ways to meet demand and, at the same time, sustain wild populations of fishes.Aquaculture is the answer to this current dilemma. Farming fish for food has been around since about 2000 B.C. Since then, technology has helped it advanced and developed better techniques to raise fish for food.
Benefits of Aquaculture
Fish is a low-fat high quality protein. Fish is filled with vitamins such as D and B2 (riboflavin). Eating fish is an important source of omega-3 fatty acids. Two omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Our bodies don’t produce omega-3 fatty acids so we must get them through the food we eat. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in every kind of fish, but are especially high in fatty fish. Fish is rich in calcium and phosphorus and a great source of minerals, such as iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and potassium. These essential nutrients keep our heart and brain healthy. For a healthy heart, it is recommended to eat fish twice a week.
Eating fish also helps to normalize blood pressure and reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. The health benefits of fish are more than enough reason to eat them, but they are also a delicious meal. There is a large variety of fish to choose from, including freshwater and saltwater varieties. However, the increased amount of people eating fish has had an impact on wild populations. To prevent certain species from being overfished, it is important to find an alternative to providing fish to people, and that includes aquaculture.
Different types of aquaculture must be used to raise different species of fish. Large companies can engage in aquaculture on an industrial scale with fish held in tanks or in pens in lakes, ponds or even the ocean. Families can even perform aquaculture in their backyard. The variety of fish that you can raise for food includes carp, catfish, trout, tilapia, etc. It’s also possible to raise shellfish, including freshwater prawn and shrimp. In some areas aquaculture has made an enormous impact on the local community’s economy and employment as well. The food produced helps to sustain growing population and provides local jobs with steady income.
Humans have the ingenuity and drive to make the world a better place for themselves and others. Population growth isn’t going to slow down any time soon, and we need to make sure everyone is taken care of and has enough to eat. While aquaculture has its pros and cons, it can be a sustainable and economic way to feed hungry people. In time, it may even be the answer to Ensure Food Security and Health during the Pandemic.
(The author is Associate Professor/Sr. Scientist (Fisheries) Fisheries Unit, SKUAST-Jammu, Chatha)
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