India’s marine and fish industry growth rate is about 7 percent and is likely to reach `67,800 crore by 2015 from the current level of `53,000 crore. As per the result of a survey conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) the processed segment comprises of about `8,000 crore, which is 15 percent of the total domestic marine and fish industry.
The study also revealed that fish production in India is likely to cross 12 million tonnes (mt) by 2015 from the current level of 9.3 mt. Captured fish accounts for about 65 percent of the total fish production, while aquaculture accounts for over 30 percent of the annual fish production. China rank first in fish production in the world and India stand second position accounting 6 percent of global fish production.
D S Rawat, secretary general of Assocham, said that over 8,000 km of coastline, four million hectares of reservoirs, two million hectares of brackish water and nearly 51,000 sq km of continental shelf area offers a plethora of opportunities for growth of the marine and fish industry of India.
India has tremendous potential to increase its fish production and there is a huge scope for investments in packaged marine processing plants, operations in preservation, processing and export of coastal fish for the private sector as it holds vast, untapped marine resources with a great export potential.
