The Marine Products Export Development Authority has certified SVR Hatcheries, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, as the first shrimp hatchery in the country to get SHAPHARI certification for the production of antibiotic-free seed after successfully completing the mandatory audits. KS Srinivas, Chairman, MPEDA, distributed the SHAPHARI Certificate to Prathipati Veerabhadra Kumar, Managing Partner of SVR Hatcheries through video conference.
SHAPHARI -Certification of Aquaculture
MPEDA developed a certification scheme for aquaculture products called ‘Shaphari’, a Sanksrit word for “superior quality” of fishery products suitable for human consumption.
Shaphari is a process certification applicable to an aquaculture farm conforming to the basic guidelines for Good Aquaculture Practices (GAP) and meeting the standards of SHAPHARI. The scheme is based on the FAO’s technical guidelines on aquaculture certification. It has two components:
- Certifying hatcheries for the quality of their seeds
- Approving shrimp farms that adopt the requisite good practices.
The certification of hatcheries will help farmers easily identify good quality seed producers. Those who successfully clear multiple audits of their operations shall be granted a certificate for a period of two years. The entire certification process will be online to minimise human errors and ensure higher credibility and transparency.
Certification of hatcheries for the production antibiotic free seeds
Based on the stakeholder meeting interactions, MPEDA initiated certification of export oriented aquaculture production systems in India as a voluntary scheme. A committee comprising two representatives of All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association (AISHA), representatives of Prawn Farmers Federation of India (PFFI) and officials of MPEDA for formulating the scheme for certification of hatcheries for production of antibiotic free seeds was set up.
Draft guidelines for certification were prepared after a series of consultations with various national and international institutions related to fisheries and aquaculture. Comments and suggestions were analysed and necessary amendments were made in the final document. Thirteen hatcheries participated in the pilot phase.
Pilot phase of ‘SHAPHARI’ Certification of Hatcheries
MPEDA’s Pilot phase of hatchery certification scheme was initiated with the participation of 13 shrimp hatcheries engaged in post larvae production since May 2020.
These hatcheries were willing to undergo audit by the designated auditors and agreed to be part of the surveillance program for shrimp seed quality. The list of hatcheries participating in SHAPHARI Certification of Hatcheries and the present status of Certification is available.
