500 finfish farming cages in DK, Udupi make 2008 pilot a success story

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Nov 08, 2017 : Finfish farming in coastal Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka has revolutionised the mariculture activity of the region.

 

Cage farming technology developed by Indian Center for Agriculture Research (ICAR) and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), which has been customised for local fishermen has now completed a decade.

A release issued by Dr G B Purushottama, Scientist, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, stated that small scale finfish cage farming technology was developed by a dedicated team of Scientists at Mangaluru Research Centre of CMFRI during 2008.

The technology developed was introduced as a pilot in Uppunda village as an alternative occupation for the traditional fishers of the region and augment their income through increased fish production.

This initiative to take up finfish culture in small cages in the estuarine and brackish water areas by the Mangalore Research Centre of CMFRI is the first of its kind in coastal Karnataka.

The cage farming technology demonstrated by installing five cages (2.5 m x 2.5 m x 2 m) for a group of local fishers stocked with juveniles of snappers, pearlspot and seabass fingerlings captured live in traditional gears.

The scientists of the Research Centre trained and imparted step-wise technical know-how for rearing the fingerlings to marketable size. The success of the demonstration programme encouraged the selected fisher groups and many others to take up finfish farming in cages in a big way by using seeds collected from the wild as well as hatcheries.

This has resulted in rapid expansion of the farming technology to several talukas and districts in coastal Karnataka. Presently, there are about 500 such cages installed in the estuarine areas of Karnataka that can generate an estimated income of around Rs 100 million.

The success of the technology and the effective transfer of the same from the Research Lab to the traditional fishers leading to doubling of their income has drawn praise from several departments and organisations.

To celebrate the decade of remarkable success of small scale finfish farming in Karnataka, the ICAR-CMFRI, Mangaluru Research Centre is honoring the pioneering fish farmers who joined hands with the Research Centre in adopting the small scale finfish cage farming technology.

On November 8 in an exclusive programme organised at the Nadadoni Bhavana, Uppunda, Kundapura taluk, Udupi district, such pioneering farmers will be felicitated. This felicitation programme also forms a part of the year-long Platinum Jubilee celebrations of ICAR-CMFRI, the release added.



courtesy:DHNS