aquaculture-center.com

The Government has announced a raft of measures to boost aquaculture — the growing of fish outside their natural habitats.

The Fisheries minister, Dr Paul Otuoma, said the Government will increase extension services and set up cold stores while encouraging private-public partnerships in processing and value addition to increase incomes.

Dr Otuoma said aquaculture had suffered from ignorance, high cost of inputs and poor marketing systems. He said the ministry would also explore the potential of the less exploited lakes and dams.

Offshore fisheries
Post harvest losses would be reduced by facilitating the provision of cold chain facilities.

The measures are aimed at promoting aquaculture as an alternative source of fish to ease pressure on the natural water bodies. Nine countries of the South Western Indian Ocean (SWIO) region have embarked on a research to explore the potential for offshore fisheries.

The research will be conducted at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KEMFRI), in Mombasa.

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Mr Tony Killeen TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food today opened a major conference organised by Bórd Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The Minister also held a formal meeting with the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) to discuss further the immediate issues facing the Irish fishing fleet and the next steps, which will take place at European level to address the immediate challenges for the Irish industry.

The ‘BIM/Fish Ireland 2008 Conference on Innovation and Sustainability in the Seafood Industry’ involved national and
international speakers who drew on their expertise and experience to give very informative talks on driving innovation and engineering sustainability in the Irish Seafood Industry. Read the rest of this entry »