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R. Balaji

Chennai , May 10

SHRIMP farming is likely to receive a boost with Parliament passing the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Bill, 2005 last week. Banks and insurance companies, which have placed shrimp farming in the negative list, will now be able to support aquaculture projects.

According to industry sources, this means that shrimp farming is finally being recognised and given a legal status. The sector can now grow in an organised way with the State Governments, the Centre and other authorities concerned encouraging coastal aquaculture.

The main benefit would be the entry of organised funding and insurance — the two benefits that had been denied to shrimp farmers — into aquaculture, the sources said.

Also, the legislation, which now awaits Presidential assent, calls for the setting up of a 10-member coastal aquaculture authority that would oversee the regulated and streamlined growth of shrimp farming, they said.

This is a legislation that has been eagerly awaited by the aquaculture industry for close to a decade. The Bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha on March 19, 1997 and then two days later in the Lok Sabha. But since then, it has been on the back burner, according to official sources.

The legislation is the fallout of a public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court in February 1991, seeking a ban on aquaculture industry. In December 1996, the court ordered stringent regulations on the setting up and operations of the shrimp farms. The regulations proved a dampener for the industry, with the banks and insurance sector backing out from supporting shrimp farms.

Under the directions of the Supreme Court, an Aquaculture Authority was set up in 1997 to monitor and license shrimp farms and, if required, demolish the farms that do not conform to the regulations. This authority took up the licensing of farms and, as of April 2005, approved over 10,000, according to official sources.

Now with the Bill being passed, the Rs 3,500-crore aquaculture industry could look forward to new investments, according to Mr M. Sudarshan Swamy, President, All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association. The organised sector had moved out of farming following the restrictions placed on shrimp farming.

According to Mr Ashok Nanjappa, Chief Executive, The Waterbase Ltd, the recognition given to aquaculture industry would mean that apart from the growth in shrimp farming, there would be a renewed interest in research and development in key areas such as brood stock development and disease management. Quality in farming processes can now improve with the introduction of new technologies.

Despite the absence of formal funding, aquaculture has emerged as a billion-dollar industry purely on credit given by input manufacturers to farmers. Production from shrimp farms is estimated to be about one lakh tonnes, primarily the `black tiger' variety.

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With Parliament passing Aquaculture Bill — Banks, insurance cos may support shrimp farming

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