Thrust Areas of Research
Assessment of marine fishery resource characteristics of Vizhinjam and adjacent areas.
Development of captive breeding, seed production and farming technologies of marine ornamental fishes, food fishes and invertebrates.
Development of live feed culture techniques of selected microplankters.
Development of knowledge base on biodiversity of marine fishes and invertebrates.
Refinement and popularisation of image pearl production technology.
The Vizhinjam Regional Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute had its inception in 1951 as a survey centreas directed by Dr. N. K. Panikkar, the then Chief Research Officer of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Station at Mandapam Camp.This was later elevated to the status of a Research Unit in 1965 and subsequently to a sub-station in 1969. With the addition of more research programmes and personnel over the years, it has grown into the present full-fledged Regional Centre. The centre is located in the coastal village of Vizhinjamin NeyyattinkaraTaluk of Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. It is about 15 km south of Thiruvananthapuram city and famous for the fishing harbour with a lighthouse and a blue beach sheltered on the coast of Arabian Sea.
This Centre has been carrying out pioneering research, contributing substantially to the knowledge about the marine fisheries of this region. Realizing the importance of this centre which was housed in rented buildings, the Government of Keralahad allotted 1.7 acres of sea front land area for VRC of CMFRI to construct permanent Office-cum-Laboratory building, Marine hatcheries and Marine Research Aquarium. On completion of the Office-cum-Laboratory building, the Centre was shifted to the new premises in April 2013 and the new Marine Research Aquarium is opened to the public since June 2014.
Ongoing Research Projects
a. In-house Projects
Development of knowledge based information system for marine fisheries sustainability |
Decision support system for marine fisheries management |
Development of fishery management for sustaining marine fisheries of Kerala & Lakshadweep |
Development of strategies to sustain the stock and fishery of large pelagics of Kerala & Lakshadweep |
Development of fishery management for sustaining marine fisheries of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry |
Assessment of Elasmobranch resources in the Indian seas |
GIS Based Resource Mapping of Distribution and abundance of Fin fishes and Shell fishes off Indian coast for Suggesting Operational based strategies for Fisheries management |
Sustainable molluscan mariculture practices |
Development of fishery management plans (FMPs) for the bivalve fisheries of India |
Healthmanagement in maricultured fin fish and shell fish formariculture and aquaculture &bioprospecting from marine resources. |
Aquatic feed biotechnology for mariculture and aquariculture |
Supply chain management of marine fisheries sector in India |
Economics of marine fisheries and sustainable management : Policy issues and interventions. |
Capacity development for ecosystem based responsible fisheries management in India , A co- learning action research |
Bioinventorying and biodiversity valuation of marine organisms in selected ecosystem along the Indian coast. |
Investigations on vulnerable coral reef ecosystems of Indian waters with special emphasis on formulation of management measures for conservation |
Assessment of the fishing impacts on biodiversity loss, with special reference to the threatened species, to formulate management options for their protection. |
Development and standardization of seed production technologies for selected highvalue finfishes and shell fishes. |
Innovation in sea cage farming and coastal mariculture. |
b. Sponsored Projects
ICAR mega seed Project |
Ecobiological investigations on major pelagic fishes and ecological modelling of the epipelagic habitat off Kerala and Lakshadweep All India Network Project- Mariculture |
c. Consultancy Projects
Pre-Feasibility study of Sea life Leisure Park at Kappil, Varkala |
Completed Research Projects
a. In-house Projects
Development of knowledge based information system for marine fisheries sustainability. |
Decision support system for marine fisheries management. |
Management advisories for sustaining marine fisheries of Kerala & Lakshadweep. |
Strategies for sustaining tuna fishery along the coast of India. |
Management advisories for sustaining marine fisheries ofTamil Nadu and Puducherry |
Biotechnological applications inmariculture and conservation |
Pathogen profiling, diagnostics and health management in maricultured fin fish and shell fish |
A diagnostic study on dimensions, causes and ameliorative strategies of poverty and marginalization among the marine fisherfolk of India |
Management advisories for sustaining the marine fisheries of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. |
Benefit Cost analysis of marine fishery business and Alternative investment options in India , A co- learning action research |
Understanding the threatened coral reef Ecosystems of Southern India and Designing Interventions aimed at their restoration |
Studies on the specific andinfraspecific diversity of carangids of the Indian seas |
Species variation and biodiversity of the fishes of the family Lutjanidae of India |
Assessment of biodiversity and ecological changes in open sea cage. |
Biodiversity evaluation of marine ecosystem of the south west coast of India |
Development of diversified mariculture systems. |
Development of broodstock, captive breeding and seed production techniques for selected marine food fishes and ornamental fishes. |
b. Sponsored Projects
ICAR mega seed Project |
Open sea cage-culture demonstration farms in India (NFDB) |
ICAR Outreach project on fish feeds |
c. Consultancy Projects
Impact assessment of multi-purpose reef at Howa Beach, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram on fishery resources of the area. For DOT, Govt. of Kerala |
Baseline data collection and monitoring on environment and social impact assessment for the development of Vizhinjam port. For Asian Consultant Engineers, New Delhi |
Significant Achievements in the last 5 years
Technologies/Concepts/Findings