A fisheries university will be set up in the coastal Nagapattinam district at a cost of Rs. 30 crore, as part of the State government's effort to develop fisheries through technology and create knowledge base in the field, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said on Tuesday.
In a suo motu statement in the House, she said the university would come up on 85 acres in Panangudi and Nagoor villages in the district, which has a 188-km coastline.
Fishing, dry fish production and shrimp culture are the main economic activities of the district where 9,000 fishing vessels are in the trade.
Pointing out that the countries that were in the forefront of fishing trade had exclusive fisheries universities, she said in the neighbouring Kerala a University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies was inaugurated last year.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said the university in Nagapattinam would play a vital role in technology transfer, extension of education, human resource development and upgrading of fisheries resources utilisation.
The university would offer degree and diploma courses in prawn farming, carp farming, ornamental fish culture, fish processing and value added fish and fishery products, fishing boat and engine maintenance and seamanship and navigation
In the first phase, the Fisheries College and Research Institute in Tuticorin, Staff Training Institute at Chennai, Fisheries Institute of Technology and Training at Chennai (FITT), the Research Stations and the Maritime Academy will be affiliated to the university.
The Chief Minister said Tamil Nadu had a coastline of 1076 km and nine lakh people in 591 fishing hamlets were in the trade.
There are 6,200 machine boats, 50,000 traditional vessels. The State's annual fish production is four lakh tonnes and fish products worth Rs 2,000 crore are exported.
