Pravash Pradhan
The Aquatic Quarantine Facility (AQF) in Andhra Pradesh (AP) will help ensure the supply of quality shrimp seed to farmers and enhance production in the State, said Minister for Fisheries, Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao after laying the foundation stone for the facility at Bangarammapeta village in Visakhpatnam district.
With an estimated project cost of Rs34.76 crore, the AQF can facilitate the production of over 10 billion seed translating into an aquaculture production of 1.5 Lakh tons of shrimp worth Rs.4500 crores every year.
Spread over 30 acres, the proposed facility with six quarantine cubicles is projected to offer 198 quarantine cycles to the industry in a year, with one month shut down period. Each cubicle accommodates 40 numbers of 650 litre capacity FRP tanks and can quarantine a total biomass of 25 Kgs (i.e., 625 animals approx.) during each quarantine cycle of five days.
The receiving areas have 30 numbers of one ton capacity FRP tanks for receiving and acclimatization of stocks. The number of broodstock quarantined, assuming maximum utilization of the cubicles at 25 Kg biomass/cubicle is worked out to be 1,23,750 brooders/annum, inclusive of both male and female brooders.
AP being the hub for shrimp production, contributing more than 65% of culture vannamei production in the country, has more number of vannamei hatcheries (380 out of 550 hatcheries in India).
The State with its 1.74 lakh hectares brackish water potential area offers huge opportunity for development of Shrimp culture. Presently 81,000 hectares are under shrimp culture.
The P. monodon culture in the State was slowed down after 1994 due to disease problems. As an alternative, L. vannamei culture was introduced from 2009. L. vannamei culture is sustained with import of Specific Pathogen Free ( SPF) broodstock from Singapore, Hawaii, Florida, Mexico, Indonesia and Texas.
The imported broodstock needs to be quarantined before supplying it to the hatcheries as per “Live Stock Importation Act 1898”. India has one such facility in Chennai. It is the only declared single port of entry for Vannamei broodstock to the country.
Among others, Commissioner of Fisheries, K Kanna Babu, MLA, Nakkapalli, MP Anakapalle, Joint Director, Fisheries, Dr K Ohani Prakash were present in this event.
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