Fish for all, says expert

By Venkatachari Jagannathan | 12 Jul 2003

Chennai: There is a convergence of views on the issues faced by the fishing industry but the solutions offered are divergent. The problems faced by the fishing industry are water withdrawals, increased urbanisation, subsidies, land-use pattern, open access to fishing and lack of monitoring, says Dr Meryl J Williams, director general, WorldFish Centre, Malaysia.

Addressing a gathering at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), she added that the solutions offered are involving the stakeholders and educating them about the issues. According to her, the national fisheries research laboratories are focused on rearing high-value fishes whereas it is the low-priced fish that is important for the poor in the developing countries.

"The consumption of fish is going up in developing countries while the fishing has come down to some extent. They buy from developing countries. The US once used to be a fish exporter now imports fish," she added.

Swaminathan called for an immediate aquarian reforms and a clear-cut policy to provide fish for all.