Govt plans to make north shrimp-output hub

The Union government is working on an aquaculture plan worth 2576 crore in four northern states to create a hub of farming shrimp for export and domestic consumption by utilising land unsuitable for crops, two officials with the knowledge of the matter said.

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Over the past year, officials and scientists from the department of fisheries and the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture tested thousands of hectares of saline wasteland unfit for crops in 25 districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, marking out clusters where shrimp aquaculture could be productive, one of the persons said, seeking anonymity.

The scientists found that productivity of the farmed crustaceans or output per hectare is roughly the same in Haryana as the world average at about 6-7 tonne, making it potentially a major centre for shrimp farming. Most shrimp is farmed in the country's coastal states.

In India, shrimp farming has been supported by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Asian Development Bank and the country is one of the biggest exporters of cultured shrimp.