The industry includes the cultivation of sea cucumbers, seaweed, fish and shrimp and is being used to stimulate the country's economy, increase the wages of fishermen and women, and improve the regions ocean water quality.
Coastal regions of Madagascar are reliant on the Indian Ocean's marine resources as a source of food, income, and cultural identity.
During the 1980s, the government stepped back from state-owned controlled aquaculture fields to allow independent entrepreneurs to invest the sector.
[2] Sea cucumbers, considered a delicacy in Asia, play a crucial role in recycling nutrients from sediments on the ocean floor to form the bedrock of complex marine chains.
Wild sea cucumber populations have dropped with many fishers now using SCUBA gear to access those that are left, a practice now banned in Madagascar.
[3][4] A 2012 EU commissioned study of Madagascar’s sea cucumber trade showed an 85% drop in the population since the fishery’s peak.
[5] The country's first locally owned sea-cucumber farm is located in Tampolove and was developed with the British NGO Blue Ventures.
[4] In the southeast Velondriake region of the island, Toliara's marine institute uses new technology to produce broodstock of sea cucumbers to sell to fishers.
Shrimp aquaculture in Madagascar has grown in importance over the years, and is responsible for the direct and indirect employment of over 3 000 people on the island.
These farm areas are systems composed of breeding ponds, a hatchery, a processing and packaging factory and storage facilities.
Most of these engineers have strengthened the team of the Ministry for Fisheries and Agriculture, other contributed to the creation and development of the first shrimp farms in Madagascar (currently grouped in UNIMA).
The implementation of non-profit NGO’s, such as MIDEM, which have become an integral part of the islands seafood industry has also enhanced the effectiveness of the development of fishery and aquaculture training in Madagascar.