The Department of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development has set a target of export turnover of Rs 20,000 crore to be achieved per annum through exports of seafood from the State. Setting an ambitious target of annual seafood exports at `20,000 crore in next five years, the State Government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Nitte University, Mangalore for preparing an action plan for Odisha to achieve the target. As per the agreement, the Managlorebased University will undertake a detailed review of baseline conditions on production, processing and seafood export. It will suggest measures for augmenting production from both capture and culture fisheries. With 24,000 sq km area within the continental shelf, the State has ample potential for marine fisheries development. Freshwater resources of the State are estimated at 6.76 lakh hectare (ha) while brackish water resources cover 4.18 lakh ha including 0.79 lakh ha of Chilika lake and 2.98 lakh ha of estuaries among others. This was decided at a meeting in the presence of Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Fisheries and ARD Minister Dr Damodar Rout and Fisheries and ARD Secretary Vishal Gagan.