State sets up fish testing laboratory at Junput

Kolkata: The state Fisheries department has set up a laboratory at Junput in East Midnapore which can be used by exporters to assess whether the fish, particularly prawn, are free from pollution so that they do not face rejection after export.

“There have been a good number of instances of rejection of exported prawn consignment from the state to foreign countries on the ground that they are affected by pollution. We have set up a laboratory with modern facilities for fish testing which will be functional soon. The exporters will check their stuff before export which will ensure that they do not face rejection. We are hopeful that this will provide a further boost to fish exports to foreign countries,” state Fisheries minister Biplab Roy Chowdhury said.

The minister said that with fish cultivation being carried out in an unscientific manner by a section of fish farmers, the department has already held several meetings at the state level asking the farmers to follow scientific cultivation methods in pisciculture. Such meetings are now conducted at the district level too.

As per figures available with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in 2021-22, frozen shrimp export from Bengal was 105080 tonnes with revenue clocking Rs 5827.61 crore.

The total amount of marine products exported from Bengal in 2021-22 is 124337 tonnes with the total revenue earned being Rs 6183.09 crore.

Frozen fish the bulk of which is shrimp is exported in reefer containers via sea routes to different parts of the world, including Japan, the USA, the European Union, China, South East Asia, the Middle East and some other countries too.

According to sources 85 per cent of shrimps from Bengal are exported and only 15 per cent are used for domestic consumption. Apart from Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat export fish.

Shyamsundar Das, general secretary of the Digha Fisherman and Fish Traders Association said that the export market has been badly hit in the recent past with several countries showing less interest in procuring fish for reasons best known to them. Meanwhile, the state Fisheries department has started installing a modern technological device in trawlers that venture into the deep sea for fishing which will help the department officials to track the location of the trawlers centrally.