Fisheries college helps grads net opportunities

MANGALORE: Just a degree from College of Fisheries (CoF, Mangalore) is enough to make it big in the multifarious $100 billion global fishing industry which is now growing at 8% annually.
When the College of Fisheries was established in 1969 by the then University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS, Bangalore) it was first a professional college in the south-east Asia region, barring Japan.
During the IT boom, the admission rate dipped at the only professional college in the state imparting fisheries education. But it is back in business and its courses are being much sought after by under graduates after medicine and engineering.
College dean Dr KM Shankar says the scope of the graduation programme is such that a student can opt for employment in any sector -- be it government, private, corporate and processing – as its scope is boundless. “It’s an evergreen industry amidst sectors registering negative growth,’’ he adds.
According to him, one-third of the pass-outs are employed outside the country due to the demand for professionals by the fishing industry.
“There was a time when the college (including agricultural sciences) was on the top of the wish-list of the toppers in under graduate programmes. Now, the attraction has faded due to the mushrooming of medical and engineering colleges and IT boom,” says Shankar. “IT was the spoiler for students opting to go to basic or applied or pure sciences,” he added.
The college offers BFSc, MFSc and PhD programmes in Fisheries Sciences. MFSc and PhD are being offered in five branches namely Aquaculture, Fishery Microbiology, Fish Processing Technology, Fisheries Resources and Management and Fisheries Environment and Ecology.
C V Mohan, alumni of the college and now a research and programme development manager at Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia Pacific (Thailand), says fisheries graduates have lot of scope outside the country due to the booming global fishing industry.
KFDC managing director V K Shetty, another alumnus, says apart from three major areas of fishing -- marine, inland and brackish – the freshers have good opportunities in banks as fisheries officers, processing, export and aqua-farming industries.