Kakinada: Shrimp farmers here are getting encouraging prices for their catch as they did last year, having overcome the problem of white spot disease in the Vennamei variety. A fortnight ago, 30 Vennamei fetched a total of Rs 580 on the market, but with increasing arrivals in the market, prices have been corrected to Rs 480 a kg. “Shrimp exports amounted to Rs 4 lakh tonnes during 2015-16 which is 10 per cent less than the previous year. But now, the market is encouraging,” said Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) secretary Mr Srikumar. He said that shrimp farmers would have to follow good management practices to get good returns and better prices.
He added that the MPEDA was now creating awareness programmes on aqua culture and was offering suggestions periodically — what with India being a major exporter of shrimp to the US and Europe and Andhra Pradesh being at the forefront of it. But shrimp farmers are also facing difficulty in getting quality brood stock as the number of hatcheries has increased and no regulations are being followed. This is causing a dip in production. “The brood stock should be discarded after 10 to 12 maturities. But now, hatcheries are not discarding until 20 to 22 maturities, and this reduces the quality and quantity year by year,” said I.P.R. Mohan Raju, president of Prawn Farmers Federation of India.
He said that governments should check for the excessive maturity of the brood stock and only supply what was of good quality to farmers, by carrying out quality tests. Mr Raju added that the 30 count used to take 33 grams in the year 2010 whereas it fallen down to 20 grams. He said that 25 billion seeds would be needed in India and governments should provide facilitation centres for giving certification for the brood stock and the produce to ensure quality and quantity.
All India Hatcheries Federation president L. Satyanarayan said that many of the region’s hatcheries in Andhra Pradesh were supplying good quality seeds in hygienic conditions and the Coastal Aqua Authority personnel were also thoroughly checking the hatcheries and giving necessary suggestions for better product.
