AI could help address challenges in marine fisheries: NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman

Kochi: Emphasising the role of technology as a vital growth driver, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery said on Friday that the application of frontier technologies like artificial intelligence could help address the challenges in the marine fisheries sector.

He was speaking after inaugurating a high-level national workshop jointly organised by NITI Aayog, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and Kerala Fisheries Department at CMFRI here.

Bery stressed the importance of understanding the dynamics of demand for prioritising production strategies.

"Given that demand for fish is on the rise, innovative strategies to enhance productivity are required and added that demand is the driving force of the economy," he said.

The workshop was held to discuss relevant issues in marine fisheries, develop tailored strategies, and forge partnerships between the coastal states to address the challenges and explore the prospects.

Flagging concern on the increasing trend of disparity between the states, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said the growth of fisheries is highly imbalanced while it is much higher in Andhra Pradesh compared to most other maritime states.

"Fish production in Andhra Pradesh is 50 per cent higher than the total production of five states, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka combined and this has to be addressed with greater attention," he added.

On measures to boost seafood export, Chand proposed enhancing value addition and cutting-edge processing innovations in the sector.

"Major chunks of India's unprocessed seafood, including shrimps and tunas, are exported mainly to Vietnam, Thailand and Tunisia for onward re-export from there after substantial value addition. By setting up of state-of-the-art processing facilities, India can harness the unexplored value-addition potential of seafood for earning greater foreign exchange," he said.

J.K. Jena, Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), pitched for exploring untapped potential of oceanic and deep-sea resources.

Citing the estimated harvestable potential of 2.1 million metric tonne of oceanic and deep-sea resources, he said that this would offer a potential new frontier for commercial fisheries.