Amalapuram (Konaseema District): Konaseema district collector R Mahesh Kumar instructed officials from the Fisheries and DRDA departments to promote seaweed cultivation, establish crab hatcheries, and organise exposure visits for crab farming.

He held a meeting on Thursday at the Collectorate in Amalapuram with scientists from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Dr Mohammad Rafiq and Dr Jayanti Suthar, as well as officials from the Fisheries and Forest Departments, DRDA, and members of the District Coordination Association.

The collector stated that the environmental and climate change experts will visit coastal areas to identify suitable locations for establishing seaweed units. He said that these scientists are already working on setting up similar units in Odisha and Maharashtra. The Konaseema coastal region has been identified as a favourable area for seaweed cultivation, and the Central government has offered to provide 50% financial assistance for setting up these units.

In the first phase, the collector directed officials to prepare a comprehensive proposal to establish 20 seaweed production units in the coastal areas. He also instructed them to arrange exposure visits to Odisha for community members, including women and their husbands, accompanied by Fisheries FDOs. The goal is to provide them with full training on seaweed production, processing, and packaging methods. The collector also advised sending another team to the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture in Visakhapatnam to study the management of crab hatcheries. He said the scarcity of naturally available crabs and suggested that artificial breeding and distribution of crabs to farmers could lead to higher yields and income.

The collector expressed his hope that these initiatives would lead to sustainable development for the coastal fishermen and SHG women within three years. He set a deadline of October 15 for the completion of all proposals.

Furthermore, the collector reviewed mangrove restoration efforts with Forest Department officials, instructing them to undertake channelisation and plantation activities. He suggested using CSR funds to plant mangroves in areas where they have become extinct, as they act as a protective barrier for the coast.