India is aiming to treble its mussel production to 30,000 tonne in the the next 10 years, a Kerala government official has said. | |
| Speaking at a seminar on mussel and oyster farming, Madhusudhana Kurup, advisor to the fisheries and registration minister, said there was great potential for farming the green mussel and edible oyster in the state. "In the next 10 years, we should be able to increase farm production of mussels to 30,000 tonne," Kurup said. |
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| "The technology for farming the mussel and edible oyster was developed during the 1970s, but was not popularised to derive maximum benefit from the technology." |
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| He pointed out that India has risen to be among the top ten mussel producing countries in Asia within a span of 10 years, with annual production of over 10,000 tonne worth Rs 8-10 crore. Mussel production during the 1990s was only 1,000 tonne, he said. |
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| A master plan for the next 10 years in fisheries sector is now with the government, he said, adding that mussel and oyster farming were also given prominence in the plan. |
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| Dr K Sunil Mohamed, head, molluscan fisheries division, CMFRI, said though India was among the top ten farmed mussel producing countries in Asia, "we are nowhere near China, where production is half-a-million tonne". |
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| The technology for farming mussels and oysters was developed by CMFRI in the 1970s. However, it was not adopted by fishermen due to various reasons, including lack of awareness. |
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| "Adoption of this aquaculture practice by coastal villagers began only in 1996 when it was field tested by CMFRI in the shallow backwaters of Kerala," he said. |
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| This shift to calm waters increased the security of farm structures. Several reasons like fast growth of mussels and oysters due to favourable hydrological and geo-climatic conditions, and availability of seeds and finance have been identified as contributory factors for the development. |
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| There are over 1,000 mussel and oyster farms now in Kerala, most of them owned by women and self help groups, he said. |
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| The successful diffusion of mussel and oyster farming is the result of a combination of various factors, including the availability of suitable water bodies, high rate of education, proximity of mussel markets and high degree of mussel consumption in the area and a synergy between CMFRI,technology developers, promoters, credit advancers and farmers, he said. |
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