Draft National Policy on Mariculture is uploaded for wider circulation among the stakeholders and general public. Comments on the draft policy may be recorded in the input sheet and sent to National Fisheries development Board (NFDB) through e-mail (info.nfdb.dpm@gmail.com). The policy document is open for comments till 31.10.2018.
[Draft National Policy on Mariculture]
[Input from Stakeholders for the National Mariculture Policy]
CMFRI sets up unit to manage laboratory glass wastes
The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has
come up with a new initiative for laboratory waste management this time. The Institute
set up a glass crushing unit that will manage the recycling of refuse glass
bottles used in laboratories by pulverizing them into the sand-like granules,
which could be used for construction works.
The unit, which was designed by Anoop Augustin of the Estate
and Maintenance Cell of the CMFRI, is part of the Swachha Bharat programme of
the Institute. A one-litre glass bottle could be crushed into tiny shreds
within two seconds at the unit, which requires 6-unit electricity per hour
operation. Besides laboratory glass
bottles, all refuse glass materials, including tube lights, could be recycled
in the same way using the facility.
CMFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan, who inaugurated the
functioning of the glass crushing unit, said laboratories could be kept
environment-friendly through the proper management of recycling the glass
bottles in the lab after use. “Laboratories use a lot of glass bottles to store
chemicals, but those bottles are accumulated as non-gradable wastes in the lab
or its premises after use. The glass crushing unit will be of great help to
convert all these wastes into recycled material for further use in other
purposes”, he said.
As part of its swachhata mission, CMFRI organised cleaning
drives besides conducting various awareness programmes. The awareness
programmes included human chain, painting exhibition and bike rally.
Chief Administrative Officer C Muralidharan, Dr Shyam S
Salim, Dr EM Abdussamad, Dr VP Vipinkumar, A Padmanabhan and Joseph Mathew
attended among others during the launch of the glass crushing unit.
Tuticorin Research Centre Organises Harvest of Seaweeds
Tuticorin Research Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI) organised a harvest
of cultured seaweeds at Tsunami Nagar, Thoothukudi District under the project
National Innovations on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) on 11th December
2018. The seaweed farming was part
of CMFRI’s initiative to combat the effect of carbon emission through climate
resilient farming practices and to ensure alternate livelihood option to the
fisherfolk to earn high revenue.
Mrs. Anju, Assistant Director, Tuticorin Regional Office of Marine
Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Thoothukudi flagged-off the
harvest. Seaweed farmers, entrepreneurs of Thoothukudi District and the
staff of ICAR-TRC of CMFRI, Thoothukudi were present.
While sharing their farming experience, the farmers said that they
got a yield of 10 tonnes of seaweeds (5 fold increase) from a single plot
(consist of 100 numbers of monolines) within a culture period of 30-35 days
with a net revenue gain of Rs. 35, 000- 40, 000/- per plot. They added that an individual
farmer can manage 4 numbers of improvised monoline seaweed plots at a time. The
farmgate price of harvested seaweed in wet basis fetches Rs 4/kg and Rs. 40 per
kg for dried seaweed with 25-30 % of moisture level.
Dr. P. P. Manojkumar, Principal Scientist & Scientist-in-Charge of the Centre, Dr. I. Jagadis, Principal Scientist, Dr. C. Kalidas, Scientist, Shri. D. Linga Prabu, Scientist and Dr. L. Ranjith, Scientist spoke on the occasion.
The TRC of CMFRI is continuing its efforts to give technical
support and scientific advice to the farmers on mariculture practices like sea
cage farming of cobia, pompano, lobster, seaweed culture and Integrated
Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) farming practices.
Madras Regional Centre Conducts
Harvest of Farmed Bivalves
Dr. G.S. Sameeran, I.A.S, Director of Fisheries, Government of Tamil Nadu was present on the occasion. He urged farmers to focus on consistent production that, he said, would boost the market prospects of the bivalve in the region. At a function which saw a participation of fishermen community and scientists of the Madras Research Centre of CMFRI, Dr. P. Laxmilatha, Scientist-in-Charge explained various phases of the farming practice. Department of Fisheries handed over the harvested bivalves to the progressive fish farmers led by Shri T.K. Ramesh & T.K. Suresh. Followed by the harvest, the process of depuration of mussels & Oyster was demonstrated and hands on training was given to the fisherwomen. Dr. G. S. Sameeran, I.A.S, distributed certificates to the farmers who participated in the farming.
Madras
Regional Centre Organises Stakeholder Meet on Draft Mariculture Policy
A stakeholder meeting on the Draft National Mariculture Policy (NMP) was held at Venkataraman Memorial Trust Hall, Kovalam, Chennai on 3rd December 2018 to gather inputs from them on the Draft NMP. Stakeholders comprising fishermen, fish farmers, representatives from various fishermen organizations, entrepreneurs, government organizations, non- government organizations working in fisheries, the Tamil Nadu Fisheries University and the Department of Fisheries officials of both Tamil Nadu and Ponducherry participated in the consultation.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. R. Kirubagaran, Co-Chairman, NMP – 2018 and former Head, MBTD, NIOT (Retd.) pointed out that stakeholders’ views are important to refine the draft of the policy for final approval. Dr. P. Laxmilatha, Principal Scientist and Scientist-in-Charge, Dr. Joe K. Kizhakudan, Principal Scientist, Dr. Reena Selvi, Joint Director, Department of Fisheries, Government of Tamil Nadu, Dr. R. Naryanakumar, Principal Scientist and Dr. A.K. Abdul Nazar, Principal Scientist spoke at the meeting. The interaction session was moderated by Dr. A.K. Abdul Nazar, Dr. Joe K. Kizhakudan, Dr. R. Kirubagaran and Dr. Reena Selvi.
Winter School on Recent Advances in Fishery Biology Techniques
ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute (CMFRI) organised a 21-day Winter School on ‘Recent Advances
in Fishery Biology Techniques for Biodiversity Evaluation and Conservation’
from 1 to 21 December 2018. Dr
C V Ananda Bose, former Union Secretary inaugurated the programme. During his inaugural address, Dr Ananda Bose
spoke about the contributions made by scientists to the nation. According to
him, it was scientific community which brought laurels to the country after the
independence. Terming the ‘green
revolution’ a milestone in India’s growth, he said that the country owed to the
scientists under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for saving
the rural population from starvation. “Green
revolution was one of the most important accomplishments the country achieved
after the independence. This helped India make a tremendous progress in food
and agriculture sector”, he said.
Dr Bose also said that the
authorities should have a keen interest in finding solutions to the issues of
fishermen who voluntarily came forward to save many lives during the recent
deluge in Kerala. Referring to the degradation of coastal ecosystem, he further
said that serious attention is required to protect coastal environment. “Dumping
of industrial and other wastes into the sea has caused excessive accumulation
of plastic wastes in marine ecosystem among many other environmental issues”,
he said.
During the valedictory of the
Winter School, Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI said scientists
should focus on real science and its underlying truth while dealing with
fisheries research.
“With the advent
of modern technologies, studies related to fisheries biology and classical
taxonomy have been less prioritised these days”, he said. “It is
sad that many researchers today often get attracted to modern techniques and
catchy jargons rather than delving into the real science behind many of our
issues”, he said.
He also said
that CMFRI is keen on expanding research collaborations in relevant areas with
universities and other institutes. “Collaborative research will generate better
data sets from every nook and corner of the country. Even small research or
academic institutes with minimal infrastructure can do wonders through
collaborative programmes”, he said.
Renowned
scientists and experts in the area presented lectures on various sessions
during the 21-day programme. The practical sessions were conducted in different
laboratories of the institute and hands on training in latest software was also
provided to the participants as part of the winter school. Researchers
from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala participated in the winter school.
Course
Director Dr Rekha J Nair, Dr V Mahesh and Dr Ambarish Gopi spoke on the
occasion.
Doubling Income: ICAR-CMFRI Launches ‘Farm
Shoppe’ to Provide Market Avenue for Farmers
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Ernakulam) of the ICAR Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi and the Agricultural Technology Information Centre- ATIC of the Institute jointly launched ‘Farm Shoppe- the safe food store’ at the ICAR-CMFRI headquarters in Kochi on 4th January 2019. Fresh, hygienic and pure food materials directly procured from farmers, farmer collectives and self-help groups will be made available in the outlet.
An
initiative to provide market avenue for farmers in line with the Doubling
Farmers’ Income by 2022 programme of the Government of India, the Farm
Shoppe is aimed at demonstrating a model that ensures fair price to farmers
while supplying safe food to the consumers avoiding middlemen. Food and health products that are being used
at home on daily basis such as fish, rice, egg, milk, cooking oil, pulses,
spices, etc are available for sale at the outlet. It is managed by utilising
revolving fund of the KVK Ernakulam.
The
facility is also a part of Swatch Bharat Abhiyan as the food products selling
in the outlet are purely organic and the outlet collects used plastic
containers to reduce plastic pollution. The outlet will play a crucial role in
promoting organic farming activities since the organic farmers in the region
will be capable of finding markets for their produce through the Farm Shoppe.
The Shoppe
was inaugurated by Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI.