Kochi/Chennai, Jan 9 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, George Kurian on Thursday said that the designation of the Mandapam Regional Centre of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) as a Centre of Excellence (CoE) will significantly boost seaweed cultivation in India.
In his remarks after inaugurating the CoE at CMFRI’s Mandapam campus in Tamil Nadu, the Minister emphasised the crucial role of ICAR-CMFRI in advancing marine fisheries and mariculture in the nation and said that this new development will further contribute to the comprehensive growth of the fisheries sector.
The Centre had recently designated ICAR-CMFRI Mandapam as the Centre of Excellence for the holistic development and promotion of seaweed culture in the country.
During his interaction with fishers and fish farmers, Kurian highlighted the remarkable increase in India’s fish production over the past decade, from 95.79 lakh tons to 175.45 lakh tons.
He also mentioned the government’s efforts to improve the sector through various schemes.
The Minister also inaugurated the plantlet production unit for seaweed established at the Mandapam Centre under the CoE, followed by visit to the various facilities at the centre such as Seaweed Plantlet Production Unit, Marine hatchery complex, National Marine Fish Brood bank, Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS), Sea cage farm, Green Tiger shrimp hatchery established under the PMMSY scheme, Marine Biodiversity Museum and Marine Aquarium.
CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George described the future plans of having a strong collaboration with the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Thiruchirapalli in seaweed tissue culture programmes.
More than 150 fishers, fish farmers and seaweed farmers from Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu attended the interactive meeting and shared their experiences in seaweed farming and sea cage farming and also thanked the Centre, the ICAR-CMFRI, and Tamil Nadu State Fisheries Department for the various schemes and development initiatives being implemented for the sector.
Kurian later assured them that the issues they have raised will be addressed.
–IANS
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