Registration mandatory for Aqua testing labs

Kakinada: Raise in number of unregistered aqua testing labs is said to have promoted the authorities concerned to make the registration of the aqua testing labs mandatory. It is learnt that this programme is taken up to assess the working mode of these labs and authenticity of of their reports as several complaints are being received about their testing abilities and equipment.

SIFT, (State Institute of Fisheries Technology) here has been entrusted with the task of conducting the registrations in association with members of other organisations.

As a part of this programme, a committee at state-level was formed with representatives from S V University, National Centre for Sustainable Aqua Culture, MPEDA, CIBA, deputy director of fisheries of concerned districts and representatives from SIFT.

According to sources, the estimated number of these labs are said to be around 200 across the state in Srikakulam, Nellore, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasam and the remaining four in Rayalaseema districts (where the activity is said to be very less when compared to the remaining nine districts)
As far as East Godavari is concerned, 25 labs out of the 30 applied for registration.

According to Shaik Dilshad, Fisheries Development Officer (FDO), attached to SIFT, out of 25 labs applied for registration, nine have been cleared. For the rest, the process is at various stages as certain requirements are yet to be fulfilled by them, she said.

As far as visits to labs in various districts are concerned, the members of the committee would inspect the particular lab and decide the eligibility on merit, the FDO clarified.