An all-India network project on ornamental fish breeding and culture was launched recently with the aims of developing the country’s ornamental fish industry and helping to maintain its sustainability. Its other objectives are developing adequate technologies in breeding, seed production and culture of freshwater and marine ornamental species.

It is a collaborative research project involving seven fisheries research institutes located across the country. The institutes are under the aegis of New Delhi’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) is the leading institute.

The others are Bhubaneshwar’s Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA); Barrackpore’s Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI); Lucknow’s National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR); Chennai’s Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Mumbai’s Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) and the Directorate of Coldwater Fishery Research (DCFR), Bhimtal, Uttarakhand.

Partnership with industry
Speaking at the launch of the project, which took place at CMFRI, J K Jena, deputy director general, ICAR, stressed on the need for having a strong linkage between researchers and industry partners in the Indian ornamental fish sector to utilise the potential resources available in the country.

He added that the network research project would address the issues being faced by the ornamental fish industry in India.

Jena said, “Though the potential for the development of ornamental fish trade in India is immense, proper mechanism is yet to be established to boost both the overseas and domestic trade of the varieties.”

“The Government of India has identified this sector as one of the thrust areas for development to augment exports. For the trade to prosper, the three pre-requisites are quality, quantity and sustainability,” he added.

“In India, there is a rich diversity of marine ornamental fish species in the reef areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands, the Gulf of Mannar and the Gulf of Kutch. The freshwater ornamental fish resources are rich in the rivers and streams of the Western Ghats and North-East India,” Jena said.

Ornamental fish villages
“The project envisages scores of objectives including the development of ornamental fish villages with strong marketing ties,” said A Gopalakrishnan, director, CMFRI.

“The project focuses on developing a value chain approach from seed collection, culture and export of various ornamental varieties by ensuring environmental and socioeconomic sustainability, product quality and overseas access to the ornamental fish industry in India,” he added.

“Technology for ornamental fish breeding and culture, a major thrust of the project, would provide additional income to rural and urban people as well and generate employment opportunities,” Gopalakrishnan said.

“The establishment of regional hatchery units and satellite hatcheries under public-private partnership (PPP) mode is one of the expected outcomes of the project,” he added.

“The other major objectives of the project include standardisation of live feed, development of cross-bred or hybrid ornamental fish varieties, disease monitoring, development of market strategies, transfer of technologies for promoting entrepreneurship and awareness programmes,” Gopalakrishnan said.

C N Ravishankar, director, CIFT; Debajit Sarma, director, DCFR, Imelda Joseph and K Madhu also spoke on the occasion.

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