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Workshop on One Health Aquaculture calls for Indo-UK partnership

Fishery scientists and experts from India and the United Kingdom have called for an Indo-UK partnership to achieve the One Health Aquaculture concept in the Indian aquatic food sector.  They were speaking at One Health Aquaculture India Workshop which was jointly organised by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) of the UK government Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) from 20-22 February 2023 in Kochi.One Health Aquaculture approach aims to achieve optimal health for the people, aquatic animals and plants, and the environment. Shedding light on the concept at the workshop, experts said while focusing on boosting production to meet growing seafood demand, it is equally important to improve the health of all involved in the value chain of the aquatic food sector.Funded by the Ocean Country Partnership Programme (OCPP) of the UK Government’s Blue Planet Fund, the workshop observed an Indo-UK partnership facilitating research collaboration would help to support the adoption of a sustainable seafood practice, reducing the risk of negative impacts from unsustainable activities and subsequently improving the livelihoods, environments, and economies of the country.

    Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI stressed the need to create a national-level agency to coordinate different fragmented efforts to maintain sustainability and health concept in aquaculture. There are mechanisms that orient Indian aquaculture towards the One Health paradigm like National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD), Indian Network for Fisheries and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance (INFAAR), All India Network Project on Fish Health, Consortia Research Platform on Vaccine and Diagnostics, etc., he said. Sally Taylor from the British High Commission said a higher level UK-India One Health partnership would set the stage for the integration of the aquatic food system into the One Health concept thereby addressing emerging realities and concerns at the global level.

From Block-chain enabled tracking to policy concepts

The workshop also suggested novel initiatives like block-chain enabled tracking of fish production from farm to table as it helps improve the quality of the produce. In order to inculcate one health concept in India’s aquatic food sector, policy interventions for dissemination and management of genetically improved varieties and restricting the use of drugs in human health and medicines used for veterinary, agriculture and aquaculture, it suggested.The workshop discussed how new and emerging technologies could help understand and ultimately reduce the impact of supply chain hazards and, build a framework engagement between stakeholders interested in the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector.Referring to the increased disease risks involved in aquaculture, Dr C Ramachandran, Principal Scientist of the ICAR-CMFRI said it is the need of the hour to appoint aqua doctors to prevent abuse of chemicals like antibiotics in aquaculture. “Collaborative R&D efforts are required for revival and market integration of traditional fish farming systems such as pokkali farming under the One Health lens”, he said.

Dr Grinson George, Senior Programme Specialist of the SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Dhaka said the increasing frequency and intensity of the Harmful algal blooms (HAB) in the Arabian Sea a leading cause of aquatic food-borne health risks to fish consumers and fish mortality that can potentially affect mariculture activities in particular and fisheries in general. According to him, roughly a three-fold increase in HAB was reported during the period from 2000 to 2020. A research paper titled ‘Sustainable aquaculture through the One Health’ published by Nature set the stage for the discussions on the One Health Aquaculture concept at the workshop. Prof. Grant Stentiford of the CEFAS, UK is the lead author of the paper.Experts such as Prof David Bass, Dr Wendy Higman, Prof Grant Stentiford, Ben Maskrey, Dr Richard Heal among others represented the CEFAS, UK at the workshop. Dr B K Das, Director of ICAR-CIFRI; Dr Kuldeep K Lal, Director of ICAR-CIBA; Dr Pramod Kumar Pandey, Director of ICAR-DCFR; Dr P Krishnan, Director of the BOBP-IGO; Dr Sanu Jacob, Director of FSSAI National Food Laboratory; and Dr Iddya Karunasagar, Research Advisor of the NITTE University, Mangalore among other leading scientists also presented papers at the workshop.

ICAR-ICMFRI Turns 75; Launches Year-Long Anniversary Celebration Campaign

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) turned 75 years on 3rd February 2022.  On the occasion, the institute kick-started one-year-long campaign that includes various activities to mark the platinum jubilee celebrations.Established in 1947, the ICAR-CMFRI has been playing a pivotal role in stewarding India’s marine fishery resources since its inception. Over the past seven and half decades, the CMFRI which joined the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1967, has grown significantly in size and stature emerging as a leading tropical marine fisheries research hub in the world. 

During the foundation day celebration, Dr J K Jena, Deputy Director General of the ICAR was the chief guest. He urged the CMFRI scientists to prioritise their focus of research in accordance with the urgent need of the society and the nation. “The Central Government is focusing on strengthening mariculture based alternative livelihood options like seaweed farming, marine ornamental fish culture etc. This would offer better livelihood option to the coastal communities and thereby supporting the country’s economy”, he said.Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of ICAR-CMFRI said that the institute broadened its objectives by diversifying towards potentially rewarding arenas such as mariculture, genetic and biotechnological applications. Keeping tab of the changes in the sector, research on climate change and bioprospecting will also be strengthened, he said.

Elaborating on the future plan of the institute, Dr Gopalakrishnan further said: “Given that mariculture is going to be a game changer in ensuring future fish production and also in providing income and employment security for coastal fishers, the ICAR-CMFRI will focus on precision mariculture with the aid of smart tools and automation with Artificial Intelligence (AI)”. Apart from this, a number of emerging areas of importance include marine environment management, marine biodiversity research, marine spatial planning, species identification and description, marine pollution research, fish disease diagnosis and control, resource monitoring and assessment, socioeconomics and so on, he added.

The logo for the year-long celebration was unveiled on the occasion. A theme song also was released.                         

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.  

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