A coastline spanning 1,076km, three major fishing harbours and several smaller fish landing centres, all these ensure that Tamil Nadu ranks among the top three states in marine fish production. In the last few years, the tide has changed towards sustainable fishing, and with steps to boost deep sea fishing under the Blue Revolution programme, together with the national policy aiming to promote integrated development of marine fisheries, the interdisciplinary science of fisheries is now one of the hot topics. The course, dealing with aquaculture, aquatic environment management, fish processing and its economics, is seen as the answer to provide better livelihood options at the grassroots and also develop technologies for efficient use of water resources and proper market tie-ups at the macro level. When the fisheries science course was started in the agricultural university in Madurai 20 years ago, no one knew that the course will have so much of demand among students. At the time, graduates of the subject were employed in the government sector or in private companies with a paltry sum as salary. In the south the first college for fisheries science was started in Mangaluru in 1974. At that time no one ever dreamed that the course would be among the most sought after subjects, said R Prabakaran, former vice-chancellor of Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. The scenario has changed with both government and private research laboratories and aqua farms employing fisheries science graduates. At least 25 colleges in the country offer courses in fisheries science. Annually, about 1,000 students pass out but the industry demand is about 8,000 per year. To fill the gap we are trying to introduce new courses, said S Felix, vice-chancellor of Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University in Tuticorin. The university will start a new course, BTech in food technology, this academic year. The university is also planning to start a few diploma courses. Experts say students with an interest in aquaculture should be ready to get their hands dirty. Whether its research or developing technologies, aspirants in the field have to get down in the water to understand the issues and make accurate analyses. While a graduate degree helps to get a foothold in the field, a postgraduation opens up more options. Whatever is taught in the college or university, experience of the field is a must. About a dozen research organisations, run by the Union government, take in fisheries science students who are into research. In the private sector apart from laboratories and farms, it’s the export business that needs trained professionals. One-third of TN’s haul is exported, mostly by private industry. This has been possible only with technological support from fisheries graduates. They help in maintaining quality, give tips on storage of various species and provide guidelines on how it is to be exported at the right temperature. But while diving into the deep blue, students have to remember the field is one that needs outof-box solutions to decades of exploitation and so it is on them to come up with answers. For instance, now reservoir fisheries offer a major opportunity to enhance fish production and so a study of artificial breeding is required. In the marine sector, deep-sea fisheries resources need to be harnessed but in a sustainable way. Proper post-harvest handling, reduction of losses, hygienic primary processing, and effective marketing arrangements, to ensure adequate returns to fishermen are the other important issues.