Ramanathapuram
Seeking to enhance shrimp production and promote the livelihood of the fishing community in Pak Bay and Gulf of Mannar, the Mandapam regional centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has released seeds of ‘penaeus semisulcatus’ (green tiger shrimp) shrimp species as part of the sea ranching programme.
After noticing that ‘over fishing’ of brooders (parent shrimps) and juveniles had resulted in drastic depletion of shrimp resources in the regions, CMFRI launched the sea ranching programme and had been releasing shrimp seeds in the last five years. On Friday, a team of scientists, led by R. Jayakumar, senior scientist, CMFRI Mandapam regional centre, released five lakh seeds of ‘green tiger shrimp’ in the Gulf of Mannar region. To achieve better survival, the 30 to 40-day-old post-larvae shrimp seeds were released in the sea grass bed regions with the help of local fishermen.
The sea ranching of the species would largely benefit the traditional and country boat fishermen, he said. By end of January, 2019, CMFRI proposed to release about 10 lakh seeds of the shrimp species and ‘Olaikaal nandu’ (blue swimmer crab) under the programme.
“We will end up this year (2018-19) releasing 30 lakh seeds,” he said, adding the institute had been implementing the sea ranching programme for the benefit of local fishermen, after receiving feedback from them that the programme helped sustainability and their livelihood, he said.
The seeds would be ready for fishing in the next three to four months, he said. The centre had so far released about 15 to 20 lakh seeds, he added.
CMFRI spent about ₹ 3 lakh a year to raise the shrimp seeds though there was no separate budget for the programme, officials said. The programme helped to conserve and maintain sustainable shrimp stocks in the wild, they added.
