CIBA develops indigenous hatchery tech for high-value commercial fish Grey Mullet

For the initial time in the region, Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has declared roll-out of the indigenous hatchery engineering for Grey Mullet, a large-valued professional fish.

CIBA has effectively bred the Grey Mullet (Madavai), a remarkably sought just after fish for farming farmers have been awaiting these types of a engineering for far more than 3 decades. The extended-awaited breeding engineering is a big breakthrough that can aid enhance fish manufacturing, in line with the government’s blue revolution initiatives, said KK Vijayan, Director, CIBA.

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Grey Mullet (recognised as Thirutha in Malayalam) is a preferred choice for shoppers because of to its style, texture, less spines, and nutritional value. The fish fetches a good market cost — in the range of ₹350-five hundred per kg. Rapidly growth premiums, omnivorous feeding behavior, and acceptance of formulated pellet feed make this fish an ideal range not only for brackishwater farming, but also for freshwater and maritime farming, he said.

It can be farmed in varied farming devices — mono culture, poly culture and integrated multi-trophic aquaculture mode (IMTA) — with prospective output of 4 tonnes per hectare/crop. With charge of manufacturing at about ₹200, he said, the income margin is large for farmers.

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Looking at its significance for brackishwater aquaculture, he said, CIBA has provided better impetus in the breeding of grey mullet given that 2015, lending particular target on acquiring a captive broodstock and breeding.

A single of the challenges with the breeding of grey mullet in captivity is its shorter annual reproductive time period — confined to just a several months all through monsoon, and reproductive dysfunctions in captivity, and for this reason, hatchery manufacturing is hard, he additional.

This is a great accomplishment in direction of species diversification to enhance the fish manufacturing in the tremendous extend of underutilized brackishwater source in the region, said JK Jena, DDG, (Fisheries), ICAR.

In accordance to Vijayan, CIBA has previously created commendable progress in seed manufacturing of a variety of brackishwater food fish species like Asian Seabass, Milkfish, Pearl Spot, Whiskered Catfish as well as ornamental species these types of as Noticed Scat, Moon Fish, Orange and Chromide.