Alternative marine finfish species for Coastal and Open sea aquaculture in India-Current status and challenges

Aquaculture is one of the most rapidly growing food \nproducing sectors in the world with a potential to meet the \never-growing demand for food and nutrition. Aquaculture \nproduction had reached 66.6 million tonnes in 2012 (FAO, \n2014) and continues to grow every year. The world food \nfish aquaculture production has expanded at an average \nannual rate of 6.2% during 2000 - 2012. The Indian \naquaculture scenario too mirrors the global picture, with \nan annual growth rate of 6-7% in the last two decades. This \nhas made lndia the second largest producer of farmed fish \nin the world after China. \nlndia has transformed an extensive system of aquaculture \ninto an intensive and commercial enterprise in the last \nthree decades. Currently, both freshwater and coastal \nareas are utilised for aquaculture purposes, with freshwater \naquaculture contributing a major portion in the total \nproduction in lndia (FAO, 2014).