The aquaculture sector has been conventionally playing a pivotal role in addressing the key global challenges of food and nutritional insecurity, poverty alleviation, sustaining economic development, providing livelihood and employment opportunities. This sector is considered a sunrise sector in India, which has an annual growth rate of 7.53 percent in total fish production. Availability of quality fish seed in adequate quantity is important to expand the brackishwater finfish culture in different culture systems viz. pond, cage etc. Apart from this, ICAR-CIBA has also developed and successfully demonstrated a number of farming methods – polyculture, multi-tier farming, biofloc and periphyton based farming – of brackishwater finfish to farmers.
The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) has developed a comprehensive technology package for seed production of various kinds of fish including some of brackishwater ornamental variety in the Sundarbans. The varieties of fish seed being produced through this technology include seabass (Lates calcarifer), milkfish (Chanos chanos), pearl spot (Etroplus suratensis), catfish (Mystus gulio), besides some brackishwaternornamental fish such as spotted scat (Scatophagus argus), silvermoony (Monodactylus argenteus) and orange chromide (Etroplus maculatus), according to a ICAR-CIBA release.