The Hindu Business Line : Ornamental fish may get green certification

An international workshop to be organised this year will formulate the certification programme; the final decision will be based on discussions held.

Our Bureau

Kochi, May 14 As the nodal agency engaged in the export promotion of ornamental fishes from India, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has envisaged a programme of Green Certification for wild caught freshwater ornamental fishes exported from India.

Consumer awareness

This comes in the backdrop of increasing consumer awareness in developed countries, especially Europe, which are introducing new regulations aimed at ecological and environmental friendliness for the wild caught ornamental fishery, sustainability of the process, and human health aspects of the importing countries.

Collaboration

The programme will be in collaboration with the ‘Project Piaba — Conservation and Management of Ornamental Fish Resources of Rio Negro Basin, Amazon, Brazil’, MPEDA said.

The move is expected to increase the quantum and value of ornamental fish exports from the country which constitutes a negligible 0.5 per cent or Rs 5.7 crore of the international ornamental fish trade.

Huge Potential

The momentum could set in because 90 per cent of ornamental fish exported from India is constituted by the wild caught variety.

The potential in the international markets also remains huge since wild caught ornamental fish trade constitute just 10 per cent of the international trade, MPEDA added.

Prof. Ning Labbish Chao, the Project Leader, Piaba, has had 20 years of experience in the field and undertook his first visit to India recently. PIABA is a consortium of researchers, stakeholders and administrators working in the sector.

As a first step towards the green certification, a meeting was convened in Kochi among industry stakeholders, scientists and administrators in India.

During the deliberations, it was decided that an international workshop would be organised during this year to formulate the certification programme, and the final decision would be evolved based on the discussions held.

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