To fulfill the R& D needs of marine fisheries in West Bengal and Odisha, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has opened a new regional research centre in Digha.
This is CMFRI’s 11th regional research centre, which will primarily focus on assessing the important commercial marine fish stocks of West Bengal, including Hilsa, a popular fish variety in the region.
At a time when the availability of Hilsa is showing a drastic decline in recent years, the CMFRI centre will focus on research activities for the conservation and sustainable harvest of the fish species and developing effective resource management practices, said A Gopalkrishnan, CMFRI Director.
The centre will also provide advisories to the Bengal and Odisha governments on the optimum number of fishing vessels and the option for management of fish stocks in the state by way of regulations.
Regular monitoring of marine landings and assessment of fish stocks will be carries out to help State in managing the marine fish resources of the region.
Though sporadic research has been carried out on the marine capture fisheries and mariculture in West Bengal and Odisha, he said there was no focused approach. It is with this intention the ICAR has helped CMFRI to open a new research centre.
Source: MPEDA