Poor post-harvest fish handling infrastructure in major maritime states is causing an annual loss of over Rs 15,000 crore to India’s marine and inland fisheries sector. This is about 25% of the Indian fish and marine industry which is worth over Rs 61,000 crore, according to a study conducted by industry body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
The post-harvest losses are generally caused due to poor handling and processing of which often lead to quality deterioration because of biochemical spoilage, inadequate packaging and lack of proper storage facilities, it added.
The study says that fish stocks in India’s territorial deep-sea waters also remain untapped owing to the dearth of suitable fishing vessels. Besides, the over-exploitation of coastal waters by the traditional fishing communities is also leading to fast depletion of maritime resources and shrinking the catch from the coastal zones.
“These losses result in potential income loss to fishermen community and all the stakeholders, traders, processors, involved in fishing related ancillary operations as the spoiled, physically damaged fish fetches 20-25% lower price compared to the best quality catch,” said D S Rawat, secretary general of Assocham.
The industry body has suggested the government to modernise the existing harbours and establish more cold storage facilities and factory vessels to aid the fish and marine industry.
“The entire fishing community including the policy makers and other stakeholders need to find alternative sources to encourage more-sustainable practices in aquaculture otherwise it could lead to degradation of land and marine habitat," he added.
