On Nov. 1, four shrimp farms in India's coastal state of Kerala will harvest the first organic prawn, which Marine Product Export Development Authority (MPEDA) claims will be the world's first organic prawn.
Kerala State Minister of Fisheries S. Sharma explained that the four farms in Kerala are participating in the pilot project that will be implemented throughout the state.
In March and April MPEDA, in collaboration with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland, released organic prawn seeds into the farms as part of an agreement that was signed in January 2007.
Organic prawn seeds were made available by Rosen Hatcheries. Other institutions involved in the project are Blueyou, a Swiss aquaculture consultant; Naturland, a German-based USDA-accredited certifying agency; and Indocert, another certifying agency based in India.
Apart from Rosen Hatcheries, two other breeding centers are scheduled to supply organic seeds, St. John Bosco and Queens Hatcheries.
According to MPEDA Chairman KS Manoj, the project is piloted in the states of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In the future, MPEDA will replicate organic prawn farming operations in other coastal states.
