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State Government | Maharashtra - India | PID: 190516
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The Maharashtra government has signed an agreement with the Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) to boost farmed fish production.
The MoU involves setting up of a seabass hatchery, and continuing the partnership of CIBA with Mangrove Foundation of Maharashtra for the promotion of brackishwater cage farming. Maharashtra, with huge brackishwater resources along its 720-km coastline, offers good potential in the farming of brackishwater fin-fishes such as seabass, said KK Vijayan, Director, CIBA.
Location
CIBA will provide technology support to the hatchery with an annual production capacity of 20 lakh of seabass larvae. The facility, which is is to be established in Vengurula taluk of Sindhudurg district, will provide livelihood support to the fisherfolk and coastal villagers living on the fringes of mangrove forests, he said.
Seabass is a sought-after fin fish along the west coast with high market demand. The partnership between CIBA and Mangrove Foundation has already demonstrated the economic benefits in the value chain, from larval production to grow-out in the cages.
CIBA in collaboration with Mangrove Foundation is implementing a project on brackish water cage culture with multi-trophic candidate species in diverse rearing systems for alternate communities living near the mangroves. The self-help groups formed under the project has already undertaken the cage farming of Asian seabass using the hatchery produced seeds.
First harvest
The first harvest from a single unit of cage was conducted at Malvan in Sindhudurg by harvesting more than 500 kg of seabass, realizing ?2 lakh.
Currently there are 32 brackishwater cage units under the project and Mangrove Foundation is going to double the number in the next cycle, he said adding, that the partnership with Maharashtra government can be a good model for replicating the model across coastal states to increase the fin-fish production when catch from the seas has been stagnated for many years.
| Updated on: 27 - Aug - 2019
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