Breeding centre for tiger shrimp at Port Blair

With the setting up of a breeding centre in Port Blair, production and exports of tiger shrimp is expected to increase multi-fold in the next five years, the government said today.
"It is expected that within five years of the establishment of the project, tiger shrimp aquaculture in India would scale new heights to achieve additional production to the tune of 1,00,000 tonnes and have export value of USD 1 billion," an official release quoted Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma as saying.
The area has the potential of becoming a huge foreign exchange earner for India, he said while dedicating the Nucleus Breeding Centre for tiger shrimp in Port Blair to the nation.

With 4.64 tonnes annual production, India ranks second in global aquaculture output.
Production of disease-free varieties of tiger shrimps will assure market access in developed countries, he said, adding the seafood industry is poised at a crucial juncture and it needs modern technology for capacity building and market expansion.
Sharma also laid the foundation stone for the Multi-species Grouper Hatchery at Andaman and Broodstock Multiplication Centre for Tiger Shrimp at Kanyakumari.
"Once the aquaculture of groupers is established, production can be increased manifold and it will also facilitate export of this item which has the potential of enhancing the income by up to five-fold for our fishermen," he said.

On India's trade and investment scenario, the minister expressed hope that the annual trade figures will be higher this fiscal as compared to the previous year. In 2012-13, the country's export was USD 300.4 billion.