KS Srinivas, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (Mpeda) has underscored the need to reduce antibiotic residue to zero tolerance level to enhance the demand for Indian seafood products in the European Union, Japan and China, the vital export markets on which India survives.

As an export regulatory body, Mpeda has a National Residue Control Plan (RCP) to monitor the antibiotic residue in fish and fish products. Indian seafood products have a very high demand in international market, especially in China, in recent years, he said.

He was speaking after inaugurating a two-day national seminar on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Indian Fisheries: Measures of Mitigation, organised jointly by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Society of Fisheries Technology (India) SOFT, Mpeda and Central Institute of Fisheries Technology here on Thursday. The Chairman also emphasized on the need to double fish production by 2024-25 as is stipulated by the Government. Mpeda has taken up this challenge, he added.

JK Jena, Deputy Director General (Fisheries), appreciated the seminar for focussing on the topic of AMR in fisheries and livestocks as health and nutrition are the key areas saddled with AMR problems.

Rajesh Bhatia, FAO expert, emphasised the need to tackle the AMR issue to improve the economic health of the country. A quantitative estimate on the use antibiotics in fisheries and the human health sector is the need of the hour to translate the issue into a policy making process at governance level.

Habibar Rahman, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)’s Regional Representative in South Asia, opined that reliable data on the use of antibiotics help to take administrative action to contain AMR problems.

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