The `code of conduct for sustainable fisheries in India', released by the Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), says that industrial aquaculture on specially identified zones may be supported based on their social commitment, productivity, zero-pollution and other benign qualifications.

However, it is suggested that aquaculture may be promoted primarily in favour of fishermen and fish farmers, rural communities, small farmers aquaculture estates, women's development corporations, and producers organisations.

Reaching the unreached and including the excluded should be the major approach in organising aquaculture enterprises.

The code was adopted at the workshop on `sustainable livelihoodsand environment management of coastal ecosystems', organised by MSSRF in collaboration with FAO Bay of Bengal Programme and International Ocean Institute, Operational Centre (Chennai) in last December.

Since aquaculture has to be integrated and harmonised with the overall development and management plans for the ecosystems, each state should set up sustainable coastal area development pilot projects to demonstrate harmonious and mutually beneficial development of agriculture, agro-forestry, animal husbandry, aquaculture, coastal tourism and other compatible activities may be considered to be set up with state support, one in each state. This will serve as the ultimate model for Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

For achieving the goals of sustainable fisheries, association for sustainable fisheries and aquaculture with representation from the fisherfolk, other stakeholders, panchayat, scientific community, fishing industry, fish trade and fisheries administration is proposed to be formed at the locallevel for each village or group of villages.

The workshop had found that at the global aquaculture or farming of aquatic organisms is the only way of increasing production of fish/shell fish/aquatic plants to bridge the growing gap between demand and supply in the context of stagnation in production from capture fisheries.

The present fish production (both marine and inland) of about 5 million tonnes contributes Rs 10,000 crore to the gross domestic product (GDP). The export earnings are around $ 1300 million.

The estimated harvestable potential from fisheries resources of India is 3.9 million tonnes from marine capture fisheries, (including inshore (2.21 million tonnes), offshore and deep sea (1.4 million tonnes) and oceanic realms (0.3 million tonnes),) and 4.5 million tonnes from the inland sector, including production from both capture and culture fisheries. Of this potential, the present production is 2.71 million tonnes from marine and 2.24 million tonnes from inland sector.

The marineproduction of 2.71 million tonnes comes primarily from the inshore region (up to 50 m depth) and the inward region of offshore (up to 100 m depth). It is obvious that (i) inshore fishery is almost saturated and needs to be conserved and managed for its sustainability; and (ii) the scope for increasing production would lie in the offshore and deep sea (up to 500 m depth) and oceanic realms.

The inland sector, on the other hand, has an estimated potential of 4.5 million tonnes, of which was present harvest is 2.24 million tonnes, leaving an yield gap of 2.26 million tonnes which has to be realised largely through aquaculture and culture-based fisheries.

The seminar had suggested that sea-based coastal aquaculture has a significant potential, but it is not yet quantitatively assessed. In future, this potential has to be commercially exploited.

For aquaculture development and management, it is proposed that areas and locations predominantly suitable for aquaculture may be declared as aquaculture zones. Thecoastal areas which are already salinised and areas which are agriculturally unproductive or only marginally productive could be included in such zones.

Similarly areas of ecological, biological and cultural significance are to be identified as aquaculture exclusion zones.

Sustainable aquaculture is one of the most productive uses of land and water resources. Aquaculture faces many challenges from other competing uses of the physical resources and those of environmental concerns. If practised and managed in an appropriate and responsible manner, aquaculture can be self-cleaning industry.