Kochi: Mariculture in India gets a major boost with the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) successfully developing the seed production technology of Indian pompano (locally known as avoli vatta), which has high commercial value both in domestic and international markets.
According to CMFRI director Dr A. Gopalakrishnan, this is the first report of the successful mass scale seed production of Indian pompano in the world. “The achievement is a major breakthrough in Indian mariculture business which will help the farming community to use the hatchery-produced seeds of Indian pompano for cage farming,” he said adding that mariculture activities would be diversified with CMFRI developing seed production technology of one more high value marine fish.
This is the fifth of its kind of an achievement made by the CMFRI after the institute developed seed production technology of cobia, silver pompano, orange spotted grouper and pink ear emperor. Indian pompano (Trachinotus mookalee) is the most suitable species for cage culture considering its fast growth rate, easy adaptability to culture conditions, quick acceptance of artificial feed, good meat quality and high consumer preference.
Breeding and seed production technology of the species was developed at the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of CMFRI after two years of research. The technology was developed with the help of Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), a new facility in fish farming.
