National Policy on Mariculture

Mariculture is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled with seawater. An example of the latter is the farming of marine fish, including finfish and shellfish like prawns, or oysters and seaweed in saltwater ponds. Non-food products produced by mariculture include: fish meal, nutrient agar, jewellery (e.g. cultured pearls), and cosmetics.

• Marine protected areas, ecologically sensitive areas such as coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds and other coastal areas with strategic interest will not be considered for mariculture zones.
• The overarching goal of National Policy on Marine Fisheries is to ensure the health and ecological integrity of the marine living resources of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) through sustainable harvests for the benefit of present and future generations of the nation. The overall strategy is based on seven pillars, namely sustainable development, socio-economic upliftment of fishers, principle of subsidiarity, partnership, inter-generational equity, gender justice and precautionary approach.

The major objectives are -

• To enhance mariculture production in the country and increase income and employment opportunities in a sustainable manner.
• To promote entrepreneurship in mariculture by facilitating the technical and financial inputs.
• To adopt an environmentally sustainable approach for development of mariculture.
• Policy proposes demarcating special areas in the sea for activities such as cage farming, bivalve farming, pen culture, sea weed culture, hatcheries and nurseries based on scientific criteria.
• Policy has also mooted the idea of farming of genetically modified (GM) species in closed mariculture systems after conducting stringent risk assessment and monitoring.
• Enhance mariculture production in the country and increase income and employment opportunities in a sustainable way by nurturing entrepreneurship talent.
• Designate potential areas as Mariculture Technology Parks through use of satellite remote sensing data and GIS.