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ICAR-CMFRI Wins Two ICAR Awards

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has won national recognition with the institute bagging two national-level awards instituted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The ICAR-CMFRI won the Best Annual Report award (2020) in the category of ICAR large institutes while Dr Anusree M, a Ph D scholar at CMFRI bagged the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for PG Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences for 2021. The annual report contains key information on the institute’s research activities and outputs in a year.  This is the second time within seven years the CMFRI’s annual report is selected as the national best.

Dr Anusree was designated for the award for her doctoral thesis on the topic ‘Characterization and Evaluation of Small Molecular Bioactives and Polysaccharides from the Phaeophytic Marine Macroalga Sargassum wightii (family Sargassaceae) as Defense Metabolites against Oxidative Stress-Induced Diseases’. Her research works involved in developing potential pharmacophores and nutraceuticals with anti-dyslipidemic, anti-diabetic, and anti-hypertensive activities from seaweeds, under the guidance of Dr Kajal Chakraborty, Principal Scientist of CMFRI. The award includes a cash prize of Rs. 50,000, citation, certificate, and a silver medal.

The ICAR- CMFRI was selected for the awards from among 114 institutes in India under the ICAR.  The institute had won the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR institutions award, the highest award of the ICAR, in 2020.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has won the first position in the latest ranking of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the category of Fisheries and Animal Science institutes in the country. The Institute also secured the third position in the ranking of the 93 institutes under all divisions of Crop Science, Horticultural Science, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural Engineering, Animal Science and Fisheries Science.  The ranking was based on research and other activities of the institutes during 2019-2021. 

Also, the CMFRI ranked the highest in the ICAR institutes headquartered in Kerala. “This achievement is seen as a recognition for collective efforts of the CMFRI family in research and development activities for the sustainable growth of the country’s marine fisheries”, said Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan. In addition, attempts to popularise mariculture activities like cage fish and seaweed farming, technology development for breeding of commercially important fishes, research initiatives to develop nutraceutical products from marine organisms, efforts for making relevant policies, studies on socio-economics of the sector and extension activities among many others have helped CMFRI to achieve this feat, he said.Kochi headquartered CMFRI has regional research centres in Veraval, Karwar, Mangalore, Kozhikode, Vizhinjam, Chennai, Tuticorin, Mandapam, Visakhapatnam and Digha.  

Seafood Watch Assessment of Indian Squid - A Clarification by ICAR-CMFRI

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ADG, HRD ICAR opens ICAR-CMFRI Winter School on Advanced Analytical Tools for Social Science Research

Dr. Seema Jaggi, Additional Director General (HRD) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) inaugurated the 21-day Winter School on Advanced Analytical Tools for Social Science Research being organised by the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi on 11th January 2023. Sponsored by the Agricultural Education Division of the ICAR, the Winter School is aimed at providing an opportunity to update the analytical skills of social science researchers and make them more familiar with advanced analytical tools and software. A total of 25 participants from Rajasthan, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are attending the Winter School. During her inaugural address, Dr Seema Jaggi stated that in line with the National Education Policy (NEP2020), agricultural education in the country will be revamped by laying emphasis on skill development. The course curriculum will be restructured in a way that helps open a wide array of opportunities in the agriculture sector. With this, education and research in agriculture and allied areas will have greater opportunities in the country in the future, she added. Stressing the importance of analytical tools in social science research, Dr. Seema Jaggi said that research would be incomplete without proper data analysis. Dr. A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI presided over the function. He pointed out that the use of statistically valid judgments derived from research programmes is the foundation for the growth of the social sciences discipline. It calls for the use of precise analytical tools for deriving conclusions from scientifically gathered data and hence improving scientific research and reporting efficiency, he added. The course is divided into several theme-based modules, including classroom lectures and hands-on exercises using statistical software. Dr J Jayasankar, Head of the Fisheries Resources Assessment Economics and Extension Division of ICAR-CMFRI, Dr Eldho Varghese, Course Director and Dr Reshma Gills, Course Co-Director also spoke on the occasion. 

World Hindi Day celebrations, 2023 organized at the Mandapam RC of ICAR-CMFRI

Every year 10th January is being celebrated as World Hindi Day to commemorate the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur on 10th January, 1975 to promote Hindi language worldwide. In this connection the Official Language Implementation Committee (OLIC) of the Mandapam Regional Centre of ICAR- CMFRI conducted competitions in Hindi to the Staff of Mandapam Regional Centre on 10th January 2023. Dr. G. Tamilmani, Sr. Scientist & Head-in-Charge delivered the inaugural address. Smt. Priya K.M, Senior Technical Assistant (Hindi Translator) delivered the welcome address and proposed a word of gratitude. Fourteen staff participated in the competitions. The program was coordinated by Smt. Priya K. M., Hindi Translator of the Centre.

ICAR-CMFRI Bags Kshetriy Rajbhasha Puraskar instituted by Dept. of Official Language

For the second consecutive year, the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Kochi has bagged the Kshetriy Rajbhasha Puraskar for the year 2021-22 instituted by the Department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India for the best performance of the Official Language Hindi. The Institute won the award in the category of the Central Government Organisations under various Ministries located in the South and South-West regions. This is the 12th award bagged by the ICAR-CMFRI for the best implementation of Official Language Hindi since 2014.  

Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI and Smt. E K Uma, Official Language Officer received the Shield and Certificate from Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, Hon’ble Governor of Kerala and Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Home Affairs during the Joint Regional Official Language Conference for South and South-West Regions held in Thiruvananthapuram on 27th January 2022. 

Digha Regional Station of ICAR-CMFRI conducted awareness programme on Conservation of Elasmobranchs

Digha Regional station of ICAR-CMFRI organised an awareness programme on “Conservation of Elasmobranchs” with emphasis on protected species in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act (IWPA), 1972 under the in-house project “Developing Management plans for Sustainable Exploitation and Conservation of Elasmobranchs in India (DEM/ELS/11) on 5th January 2023 for twenty two (22 nos.) students from the Department of Industrial Fish and Fisheries, Asutosh College, Kolkata. Dr. Subal Kumar Roul, Scientist & SIC of Digha Regional Station of ICAR-CMFRI, welcomed the gatherings and gave a detailed presentation about the protected elasmobranch species and their field level identification listed in the Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 followed by a practical section for morphological identification of Common Elasmobranch Species of West Bengal Coast. In his presentation, Dr. Roul gave a brief introduction about the importance of elasmobranchs and their role in the marine ecosystem, different schedules in the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the punishment and penalty for the offences imposed relating to the wild animals (or their parts and products) included in schedule-I or part II of Schedule- II. He also indicated that due to high fishing pressure and habitat loss, their population has been declining drastically. Further he added the efforts and initiatives taken by ICAR-CMFRI to sensitize the public and the stakeholders for conservation of protected elasmobranchs in a pan India scale. In conclusion, he stressed the immediate requisite for conservation of elasmobranchs especially the protected species. Dr. Rahul Mondal, Assistant Professor, and Sri. Dilip Pradhan, Lab. Attendant from the Department of Industrial Fish and Fisheries, Asutosh College, Kolkata also attended the awareness programme. The awareness 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.