India's Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has issued a moratorium on the registration of new fishmeal and fish oil units with effect from Jan. 1 next year to curb the over-exploitation of fish resources, Hindu Business Line reported.
It also decided to extend the moratorium on enhancement of the production capacity of existing fishmeal units.
Senior officials in MPEDA pointed out that the exponential increase in vannamei shrimp production caused the mushrooming of fishmeal and fish oil factories in India over a decade.
Unabated juvenile fishing, especially for fishmeal and fish oil production, has become a major concern, said KS Srinivas, MPEDA's chairman. This has resulted in stagnating catches of commercially important species and in the depletion of fish resources for human consumption.
“Hence, it has become the need of the hour to take effective measures towards sustainable development of fisheries and to curtail activities that directly or indirectly promote over-exploitation of marine fishery resources,” Srinivas said.
