They were talking at the 21stedition of the three-day biennial India International Seafood Show (IISS) which opened in Margao today.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who inaugurated the event, said that while the east coast, especially Andhra Pradesh, was surging ahead in culture fisheries, the west coast could enhance their contribution to exports in coordination with organisations like the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
He added that the country should do more to make use of the fishing potential along the underutilized but large Andaman and Nicobar coastline.
"India has the potential to become a seafood superpower and the goal of 20 per cent growth or doubling of the export volumes will not be as difficult if we tap into this potential fully," he said.
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"If we are able to sustain our efforts in production, India can become the second largest exporter of seafood after China within a few years surpassing countries like Norway, Vietnam, the US or Thailand," he added.
Goas Minister for Agriculture, Vijai Sardesai, who presided over the function, pointed to over exploitation as a major concern and called for proactive measures to avoid situations like the "fish famine" affecting southeast Asian countries.
Vinod Palyekar, the states Minister for Fisheries and Water Resources said they were planning to set up a Fisheries Corporation in Goa with the dual aim of increasing exports and ensuring that fish is available to domestic consumers at reasonable prices.
Seafood Export Association of India president V Padmanabham highlighted the challenges faced by seafood producers and exporters and hoped that the deliberations at IISS 2018 will help address some of these issues.
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