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Setting a stage for increasing the brackishwater fish production in Kerala, the Chennai-headquartered Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has partnered with the State Fisheries Department to set up a multi-species fish hatchery.
An MoU was signed between the CIBA and Agency for Development of Aquaculture (ADAK) for the establishment of the hatchery at Odayam in Thiruvananthapuram.
As per the MoU, CIBA will provide scientific and technical support to the government for developing captive breeding and seed production technology of commercially important brackishwater fishes such as Asian Seabass, Milkfish and Kerala’s own fish Pearl Spot.
The hatchery will target seed production of these species throughout the season enabling continuous seed production. In addition to being a seed production centre, the partnership between CIBA and the sSate government also aims to support critical human resources development in the niche area through regular and continuous hands-on training programmes.
KK Vijayan, Director of CIBA, said that the establishment of the much-needed multi-species hatchery is timely and would provide stimulus for augmenting brackishwater fish production along with enhancing the livelihood generation during every step of the fish production process.
Boosting production
“Kerala is endowed with rich brackishwater resources to the tune of 1.26 lakh hectare. Since timely availability of fish seeds in sufficient quantity is still a major constraint, the brackishwater aquaculture is yet to explore its potential resources. Timely availability of seeds in a farmer-friendly way will help develop the sector,” he said.
“The proposed hatchery would help boosting the sustainable brackishwater fish production, as it addresses the critical issue being faced by the fish farmers — inadequate seed availability of brackishwater fishes,” said Tinku Biswal, Secretary to the Department of Fisheries and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of ADAK.
M Kailasam, Principal Scientist and Head-in-Charge of Fish Culture Division, CIBA, said fish species such as Seabass, Milkfish and Pearl Spot are ideal for Kerala, considering the resilient nature of the species to changing salinities and their market demand.
Dinesan Cheruvat, Executive Director, ADAK, hoped that the agency could build up more technology partnerships in the areas such as hatchery, indigenous feeds, aquatic animal health and stock improvement.
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