Centre of Excellence for seaweeds launched in Mandapam

Ramanathapuram: Union minister of state for fisheries George Kurian inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for seaweeds at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute's Mandapam regional centre in Ramanathapuram district on Thursday. The govt of India recently designated ICAR-CMFRI Mandapam as the CoE for the holistic development and promotion of seaweed culture in the country.Addressing the event, Kurian said that the CoE will significantly boost seaweed cultivation in India. Emphasising the crucial role of ICAR-CMFRI in advancing marine fisheries and mariculture in the nation, the minister said that this new development will further contribute to the comprehensive growth of the fisheries sector.The minister also inaugurated the plantlet production unit for seaweed established at the Mandapam centre under the CoE, followed by a visit to the various facilities at the centre such as the 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.Kurian also interacted with fishermen and fish farmers, and highlighted the remarkable increase in India's fish production over the past decade, from 95.79 lakh tonnes to 175.45 lakh tonnes. He also mentioned the govt's efforts to improve the sector through various schemes.CMFRI director Grinson George, appreciated the efforts of the Union fisheries department for the development of the mariculture sector, He described future plans of having a strong collaboration with the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy in seaweed tissue culture programmes.