In a major effort to increase the domestic fish production in the State, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute here will implement a ₹15-crore project helping fish farmers to launch 500 cage farming units. The farmers will be offered subsidy and technical support to carry out the cage culture under the scheme, which is funded by the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad.
According to the programme, 40% of the total expense will be given as subsidy to the farmers who can conduct farming individually or in groups. Women and those from the SC/ST category will get 60% subsidy. The programme will be implemented in coastal districts of the State. Species such as sea bass, pearl spot, cobia, pompano and red snapper will be farmed.
The farmers from the coastal districts can register now at the Mariculture Division of the CMFRI to become part of the scheme. The applicants should be capable of carrying out the farming in water that is at least three metres deep during the low tide. Approval will be given only after a CMFRI team reviews the spot and various conditions of the water resources for farming, including environmental factors.
In addition, three Aqua One Labs will be set up in the State to help farmers for the smooth conduct of cage farming. These labs will provide services such as water quality check, sediment analysis, seed transportation, and disease management. Details of the requirements for setting up the laboratory are available in the CMFRI website ( www.cmfri.org.in ).
