Oceanic Tuna Processing Facility At Cochin Soonff

A modern processing facility exclusively to handle oceanic tuna will be set up at a cost of Rs.3 crore in the Integrated Fisheries Project (IFP) here as a joint venture with the National Fisheries Development Board, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has said.

Speaking after commissioning the Rs.1-crore renovated fish-processing complex on the IFP premises here on Saturday, he said additional facilities would be created at the IFP unit in Visakhapatnam. “The institute ‘Visakhapatnam’ will be renamed and groomed into a centre of excellence in post-harvest technology for fish. Recently, the Agriculture Ministry took steps to reorganize the institute, to make it focus on post-harvest technology, value-addition, human resource development and research and development. It is of paramount importance that seafood reaching the consumer is nutritious, wholesome and totally safe,” Mr. Pawar said.

Mr. Pawar said food security being an important challenge facing the world today, fish – both caught and cultured – had great potential for filling the supply gap. While intensifying efforts to boost fish production, sustainability of resources and livelihood security of traditional fishermen had to be ensured. Better price realization through value-addition, organized marketing and minimizing post-harvest losses would greatly benefit the small mechanized fishers and small-scale fish farmers, he said.