Stakeholders chart detailed roadmap to strengthen Goa’s marine exports

Panaji: A stakeholder meeting was held, bringing together fish exporters, govt departments and regulatory agencies to draw up a Goa action plan. The aim was to address challenges in fisheries production, post-harvest management and exports, and improve export performance.

“The draft action plan will be submitted to the Union commerce minister soon,” deputy director of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), TG Manojkumar, said.


“All fish exporters and all related departments were present, including representatives from export promotion and regulatory bodies. Based on the deliberations, we developed action plans for Goa,” Manojkumar said, adding that the draft recommendations are being shared with stakeholders for suggestions before final submission.

One recommendation focuses on increasing deep-sea fishing, especially in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, where activity remains low despite value species such as tuna. MPEDA estimates indicate over one lakh tonnes of untapped production potential, which could boost exports if deep-sea catch capacity is improved.

To ensure quality and efficiency in long-distance fishing operations, the plan proposes a “mother–child vessel cluster” model. Mother vessels with processing, storage, fuel and food facilities would operate in deep-sea areas, while smaller child vessels would harvest fish and transfer the catch for immediate processing.

Other proposals include an online platform for vessel log sheets, stricter enforcement, regulation of vessel capacity, minimum legal mesh sizes, and capacity-building initiatives involving the coast guard and allied agencies.

The draft plan calls for a multi-species hatchery under public-private partnership mode, nursery development, support for cage culture co-operative societies, and local availability of quality feed, along with biosecurity support and measures to promote value addition.