NEW DELHI: Eyeing seafood export boost, India is all set to enter the global tuna market currently valued at a whopping $42 billion. A negligible player in the segment of tuna the most commercially viable fish on the planet India has plans to harness the under-exploited deep sea fishing potential of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh will on Thursday open a top investors’ meeting at A&N Islands with focus on tuna harvesting and export. The idea is to exploit virgin oceanic resources to boost Indian seafood exports from Rs 60,623 crore annually at present to Rs 1 lakh crore by 2024-25.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared the blue economy as a major driver of India’s $5 trillion economy goal. Sources said Andaman and Nicobar Islands offered a distinct advantage in the sector a 6 lakh square km of exclusive economic zone with an estimated potential yield of 64,500 metric tonnes of tuna and tuna-like high valued species annually as against the current yield of 4,420 MT. Overall, the marine fisheries harvest potential of A&N Islands is 1,48 lakh MT, as against the currently harvested 49,000 MT.
“Proximity to southeast Asian markets with direct trade possibilities through sea and air routes are an added advantage for the islands,” a source said.
Currently in the Indian Ocean, the second largest tuna producing region with 12 lakh tonnes (21% of world’s tuna) valued at $8.6 billion, India is practically absent. The major players are the EU, Indonesia, Seychelles, Iran and Sri Lanka.
The draft guidelines for high sea fishing are under preparation by an expert committee and the government has supported acquisition of 1,398 deep sea fishing vessels valued at Rs 1,310 crore. New fishing harbours and fish landing centres are also being developed.
International flights from Sri Vijaya Puram to Kuala Lumpur are starting from November 16, with 11 fishermen set to fly to Malaysia to explore the markets there, a source told TNS.
Tuna is a highly valued fish. The Sashimi grade whole fish is worth Rs 1,000 to 2,200 per kg in the Japan market; while Sashimi loins are worth $19-25 per kg in the international market (Rs 1,700-2,500 per kg).