Tsunami effect: Fish catch likely to be down by 30%

The effect of tsunami, which had hit the shores Kerala in December 2004, ruining many aquaculture farms along the country's southern coast, is likely to pull down fish catch by 30 per cent this year.

According to the Seafood Exporters Association, "There may be a dip of 30 per cent in the seafood export as after the tsunami, the direction in the sea has changed following which fish have diverted their route. Besides, the coral reeves, where the fish gathers, are badly damaged and covered by sand."

According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), the first eight months of the current fiscal indicate that India has exported 287,984 tonne seafood as against 298,339 tonne in the same period last year. Industry analysts said that the tsunami effect will continue for a couple of years more.

There has been a fall of 3.47 per cent in terms of quantity compared to the first eight months of the last financial year. During the period under review, the European Union continued to be the group of countries that imported the largest quantity of seafood from India.

The US too retained its position, while imports by Japan showed a downward trend.

Of the total exports, frozen shrimp constituted 64.12 per cent in value and 33.66 per cent in volume, being the second biggest contributor. While there has been a marginal increase in the quantity of frozen shrimp exports during the period, all other major items, such as frozen fish, cuttlefish and squid, showed a negative export growth in terms of quantity.

Of the 375 seafood processing factories spread across the country, 50 active units are in Kerala. Kerala's seafood export for 2005 was valued at Rs 1,080 crore. During the first eight months of the current financial year, seafood exports were estimated at Rs 4,536.08 crore from a total volume of 2,87,984 tonne.

"Despite the efforts of MPEDA, the seafood exporters are in crisis because of the amendment to the Income Tax Act, as per which the exporters will have to pay income tax on Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) with retrospective effect from April 1997. The income tax works out to Rs 500 crore," industry source said.

Indian seafood industry is lining up a vision plan to increase the marine product export to $4 billion by 2010 and $6 billion by 2015. MPEDA is in the process of drawing up the vision plan by identifying the merits and demerits of the industry.

Among the plans are exploitation of unexploited resources, such as tuna, value-addition, technology upgrading, aquaculture expansion and import of fish to ensure a free flow of raw material for the processing industry.