Organic aquaculture is all set to spread its wings in India. As a right step in this direction, the country will soon become the first in the world to produce certified organic scampi.

Scampi is a large traditional fresh water shrimp found in coastal Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

This is a part of the Marine Products Export Development Authority project on organic aquaculture in India with technical and consultancy collaboration with Swiss Import Promotion Programme.

At a meeting with MPEDA, Thomas Sporrer of SIPPO spoke about the vast potential of the emerging organic shrimp and scampi market in Europe.

To make the project a big success, authorities will visit farmers in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh to woo them into organic aquaculture. MPEDA and SIPPO had earlier signed an MoU for imparting technical and consultancy collaboration.

The meeting was also apprised of changing trends in global fish consumption as a large number of affluent Europeans are willing to pay a higher price for certified organic fish products.

Meanwhile, the Prawn Farmers Federation of India has said prawn production and sales from the country would double from Rs 4,800 crore (Rs 48 billion) to Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) by 2012. This is likely to happen with an expansion of area under prawn culture by over 1.65 lakh hectares, of which one lakh hectares would be brackish water and 65,000 hectares of freshwater lands.

An additional investment of Rs 4,500 crore would be required, while availability of quality seeds, institutional finance and insurance would make the programme more feasible. More than 150,000 farmers are growing prawn in 160,000 hectares of brackish water areas both in the East and West coasts.