Overview on mariculture and the opportunities and challenges of cage culture in India

India is the fourth largest producer of fish in the world \nand the total fish production is around 6 Mt per year \nand its share in the GDP is around 1.4%. The world annual \ngrowth rate in aquaculture production has been 7.05% \nsince 1971 (FAO 2008). In 2006, aquaculture comprised \n41.8% of total seafood supply. Indian aquaculture has \ndemonstrated a six and half fold growth over the last two \ndecades, with freshwater aquaculture contributing over \n95 percent of the total aquaculture production. Given the \nstatus of global fisheries, with most large fish stocks being fully exploited or over-exploited, aquaculture production must increase in order to maintain or increase the global seafood supply per capita.