Digha Regional station of ICAR-CMFRI organised a five days
training programme on “Taxonomy of Marine Fishes” under the in-house project
“Resource assessment and management framework for sustainable marine fisheries
of West Bengal and Odisha (CFD/NEC/05) from 29 March to 2 April 2023 for
twenty-six B.F.Sc. students (26 nos.) from the School of Fisheries, Centurion
University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Paralakhemundi, Gajapati,
Odisha. Dr. Subal Kumar Roul, Scientist & SIC of Digha Regional Station of
ICAR-CMFRI, welcomed the gatherings and gave a brief introduction about the
importance and fundamentals of taxonomy followed by detailed theory and
practical secessions on morphological and field level identification of common
pelagic, demersal, crustacean, and molluscan species as per the training
schedules. Field visits were also attempted to Digha Mohana landing Centre and
Ramnagar fish market to see the landings and identify different marine finfish
and shellfish species in fresh conditions. Dr. Nirmal Tamilarasan, Assistant
Professor, and Sri. Chinmaya Nanda, Assistant Professor from the School of
Fisheries, CUTM, also attended the training programme. The training programme
was coordinated by Dr. Subal Kumar Roul, Scientist & SIC of Digha Regional
Station of ICAR-CMFRI. The program was ended with vote of thanks by Mr.
Dipankar Barai.
Sea ranching of the green tiger shrimp Penaeus semisulcatus under the Central Sector Scheme component of PMMSY
A total of 4.1 million green tiger shrimp seeds (PL 25) were sea ranched at Mandapam, T Nagar (Palk Bay) on 12th April, 2023 under the Project entitled "Sea ranching of Green tiger shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus) Post Larvae (PL) in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu" funded by Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Govt. of India under the Central Sector Scheme component of the PMMSY. The shrimp seeds were released by Shri. M. Sivakumar, Assistant Director of Fisheries and Fisherman Welfare, Mandapam, Mandapam Fishermen Association Leaders in the presence of Dr. G. Tamilmani, Head-in-Charge & Principal Investigator of the project, Scientists and staff of Mandapam Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI. The fishermen thanked the Government of India and ICAR-CMFRI for such an initiative and expressed that this activity will be helpful in replenishing the green tiger shrimp stock. A total of 57.64 million green tiger shrimp seeds were sea ranched in Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar since the inception of the Project (February, 2022). The sea ranching programme was coordinated by Dr. B. Johnson, Senior Scientist of the Centre.
Awareness
workshop on climate change and distribution of Climate Aid to fishermen
AnAn awareness workshop on climate change was organised by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi under its National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project on 18th April 2023. Fishermen residing in Kerala’s Chellanam and Puthuveypu villages attended the workshop.Speaking on the occasion, Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI said the Institute will set up Water Clinics in the coastal region of the state. At a time when climate change continues to fuel storm surges and resulting coastal flooding, the proposed clinics are aimed at assessing the quality of drinking water resources in coastal communities, he said.He added that the new initiative is in line with the ‘One Health’ concept that aims to achieve optimal health for the people, aquatic animals and plants, and the environment. “In continuation of the existing research project to understand the extent of pathogenic vibrio pollution in the Vembanad, the Water Clinics is expected to maintain the quality of the drinking water resources in the region, thereby preventing the spread of waterborne diseases in the community. Emulating the success model of the ‘Citizen Science’ initiative for the Vembanad research project, the participation of students will be ensured to conduct massive water quality checks in the coastal region with the support of a mobile application”, the Director said.In order to set up the Water Clinics, the CMFRI will collaborate with the Nansen Environmental Research Centre, Kochi, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the Public Health Department and other agencies.
Climate Aid to fisher families
The awareness workshop was organised by the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) research project of the CMFRI. In an effort to minimise the losses caused by climate change on the coastal communities, the CMFRI provided climate aid to 24 fisher families belonging to the SC community residing in Chellanam and Puthuveypu, on the occasion. As part of this, implements such as fishing nets, freezers, ice boxes, motor pump sets, fish seeds and feeds, etc. worth Rs. 2.5 lakhs were distributed among the fishermen under the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) programme of the NICRA project of the institute.Espamma Sebstin, Chairperson of the Welfare Standing Committee of Chellanam Panchayat; Dr C Ramachandran; Dr Grinson George; Dr Ratheesh Kumar; Krishnakumar, ward member; and Dr Muhammad Shafeeque spoke on the occasion.