The initiative was funded by the National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad
The cage farming initiative of the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala was recently launched at the Bahabalpur Fishing Centre in Odisha’s Balasore district. The initiative was launched byPratap Chandra Sarangi, Member of Parliament.
The Marine Cage Culture Demonstration of Indian pompano (Trachinotus mookalee) was funded by the National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad by stocking the seeds in as many as eight cages.
Appreciating the Institute for its tremendous efforts in the demonstration of the diversified mariculture practices along with the coastal states, Sarangi stressed the need for sea cage farming in augmenting the fish production and doubling the fishermen’s income. He stated that the successful demonstration of the ongoing culture technology through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) Scheme can instil confidence among the fishermen. He emphasised that it can also encourage them to take up such alternative livelihood methods, which will not only improve their socio-economic status but, also conserve the fishery ecosystem by reducing the dependency on capture fisheries.
Dr Shubhadeep Ghosh, Head, Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI & Principal Investigator of the project outlined the benefits of marine cage farming and apprised about the future plan of action.
Over 1,700 seeds weighing an average of 50 gm were stocked in each cage. The fish will be cultured for the duration of six to eight months during which it is expected to grow to an average size of 700 to 800 gm body weight.
The fish seeds were successfully transported from the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR-CMFRI by road in 1,000 litres HDPE tanks provided with the facility of vigorous aeration in two batches. The intermittent cooling was provided by using the ice blocks to ease the stress during transportation. The innovative method resulted in 100 per cent survival during 18-hour on-road transportation.
