Kochi: The state's seafood industry received a wake-up call at a roundtable in Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) Kochi, where experts demanded swift action, modernisation, and sustainable growth strategies.

Organised by the VIS Group as a prelude to the International Fisheries Tech Expo 2025, scheduled for June 12-13 in Mumbai, the meeting brought together key stakeholders under the theme: "Re-assessing the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector with a Focus on Kerala and the Newer Challenges in National and International Marketing."

The meet saw discussions on market volatility, value addition, climate change, overfishing, and international trade barriers. Panelists agreed that while Kerala was historically the nerve centre of India’s seafood exports, changing dynamics in aquaculture and international policies have sidelined the state.

“Kerala was once the capital of seafood exports. But today, its processing units lie idle,” said Dr. K. N. Raghavan, Secretary General, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI). He emphasized the urgent need for policy review, particularly in promoting aquaculture. “A strategic shift is needed—both in policy and perception—to arrest the decline. Climate change, juvenile fishing, and trade restrictions are depleting our sea resources. We need long-term, scientific solutions.” He cautioned that without decisive action, Kerala may fall further behind as Andhra Pradesh and other coastal states surge ahead.

Echoing this concern, Mr. Anwar Hashim, Managing Director of ABAD Fisheries Pvt. Ltd., listed the reasons behind the industry’s decline.“Overfishing, juvenile fishing, bottom trawling, pollution, and climate change are choking the ocean. The way forward is to reduce fishing pressure, stop bottom trawling, and start large-scale aquaculture—especially along Kerala’s coast,” Anwar Hashim said. He also urged the government to promote prawn and fish farming to sustain seafood factories. “Over 90% of our exports are raw products. It’s time to move up the value chain, via innovation-led value addition.” he said.

Kerala has the resources—Now it needs the resolve: Marine Products Export Development Authority, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) presented a report at the meet on Kerala's potential and roadmap for strengthening its fisheries sector. Outlining the State Action Plan to Boost Fisheries Exports, he said that the state needs targeted policies, infrastructure, and sustainable practices for scaling up production and exports. Kerala’s natural bounty is unmatched. What we need now is strategic direction and consistent action to convert this potential into performance.

Kerala’s extensive marine and inland water resources—590 km of coastline, 87,000 hectares of freshwater, and 65,000 hectares of brackish water—offer vast scope for expanding aquaculture and marine capture fisheries.The state contributed 6.33 lakh metric tons to India’s marine fish production in 2023-24, securing the second position nationally and accounting for nearly 18% of total landings.

Yet, when it comes to aquaculture shrimp, Kerala lags behind with a modest output of 2571 MT, dwarfed by Andhra Pradesh’s 9.64 lakh MT. We must go beyond our traditional strengths in capture fisheries and aggressively promote sustainable aquaculture.

Highlighting district-wise figures, the report pointed out that Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Thrissur, and Kollam remain Kerala’s key shrimp-producing hubs, but much of the state's 9,120 hectares of potential aquaculture land remains underutilized.

Keralites are fishing in shallow waters when we have an ocean of opportunity. A call was made for urgent steps to overcome access issues to hatcheries, mitigate climatic risks, and engage more stakeholders in organized aquaculture.

On the export front, Kerala’s seafood exports reached USD 882 million (Rs. 7231.84 crore) in 2023-24, making up 11.9% of India’s total seafood export value. However, Andhra Pradesh dominated the national tally with exports worth USD 2.36 billion.

The report stressed the need to diversify beyond shrimp to species like mud crab, seabass, pangasius, and GIFT tilapia, which are in growing demand globally.

MPEDA’s role in Kerala includes hatchery certification, training programmes, export facilitation, and market linkages. MPEDA is committed to catalyzing a fisheries renaissance in Kerala through technical support and policy collaboration.

As momentum builds for the International Fisheries Tech Expo 2025, the Kochi meet is a crucial moment of reckoning for Kerala’s seafood sector, Dr. Grinson George, Director, CMFRI, said.