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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 11^th 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

 Bivalves-green mussels and oysters-farmed under the FIMSUL-II in three sites namely Senjiamman Nagar (Pazhaverkadu), Cuddalore Chinakuppam and Kottaikadu with technical guidance from Madras Regional Centre of CMFRI, Chennai were partially harvested at Pazhaverkadu on 29^th November 2018.

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 3^rd 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 4^th 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.