Opinion | Emerging role of phytomedicine in advancement of the fisheries & aquaculture sector.

Phytomedicine also known as herbal medicine, is a medicine derived from plants in their original state, standardized for use in a dosage regimen, and used for medical purposes. It can be made from a whole plant or parts of plants, such as seeds, roots, leaves, bark or flowers etc. Practice of paraherbalism, the pseudoscientific practice of using unrefined plant extracts as medicines or health-promoting agents is customarily accustomed but there is a substantial scope to manufacture herbal medicines in a purified pharmaceutical formulation for the larger benefit of farmer fraternity. The scope of its expanse in the aquaculture is very vast & likely an unexplored course.

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Globally India is the third largest fish producing country in the world and the second largest aquaculture producing country after China. As India is a federal state and different areas under its huge land expansion, contribute differently in the overall production table of aquaculture. The production proportion from different states and the Union Territories of India is not uniform, some produce significantly more while others lag in achieving the potentials of their production.
Fisheries in India, under the 7th Schedule of Constitution is a ‘state subject’ and states have the exclusive power to make laws on subjects in the State list. The government of India also supplements the efforts of States and UTs through various schemes and programs for the development of fisheries & aquaculture. So there is a greater responsibility on respective states and UTs to devise effective fisheries policies which will globally push the share of our production levels and thereby the overall rank of India in the domain of fisheries & aquaculture.
It is pertinent to mention that Marine Products Export Development Authority has banned the antibiotic usage of chloramphenicol, furazolidone, neomycin, nalidixic acid, sulphamethoxazole, nitrofurans, chloroform, chloropromazine, ronidazole, dimetridazole etc to ensure antibiotic-free raw materials for export production. So there exists a need of alternative organic medicine development to ensure consumer acceptance at global level. Day by day the household population of India is also becoming more health conscious, which further enhances the scope of using alternative organic phytomedicines and feed supplements in the fisheries & aquaculture.
According to Botanical Survey of India (BSI), India has more than eight thousand species of medicinal plants. These plants are a vital part of traditional healing systems of many communities and are crucial cultural resource. A sustainable utilization of these medicinal plants after a proper in-vitro screening and necessary methodology with scientific intervention will not only revolutionize the fisheries and aquaculture sector but will also help in pushing the overall lead of India in the herbal trade globally.
Aquaculture has a climbing potential in upheaving the national economy and incorporation of phytomedicine and organic feed supplements will surely help in the intensive fisheries farming. Medicinal plants, to name a few, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum known as mother medicine of nature), Tethwan (Artemisia, found everywhere in Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh), Aloe vera, Turmeric (Curcuma longa), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), thornapple (Datura stramonium) etc can be effectively introduced in fisheries & aquaculture owing to the magical role of their bioactive compounds. The given & similar emerging advancements in the fisheries & aquaculture sector will prove very remunerative and evidently, open the window to new horizons of economic & fisheries development.
Mr UMAR RASOOL PARRY
PhD Research Scholar, Division of Fish Nutrition & Biochemistry
SKUAST-Kashmir