Field visit cum farmer interaction at fish farms at Kasaragod, Kerala

    ICAR-CCARI, Goa organized a field visit cum monitoring of the cage fish farming and crab fattening units at Thrikarippur, Kasaragod coastal district of Kerala during 31 August and 1 September 2024. The meet and visit was organized in the cage and pen culture units of seabass, red snapper, and pearlspot and crab fattening units established in Kavvayi backwaters with the financial support from Department of Fisheries, Govt. of Kerala. The field visits were aimed to implement strategies and provide advisories on improving fish yield from the region. The cages were inspected and advisories were given. The farmers expressed the major current obstacles to the cage fish farming are the water quality issues, and the disease outbreaks. The suggestions were given to report the immediate change in fish behaviour and water quality. The farmers practice box culture method of crab fattening near the cage units. The discussion also included the collection of natural fish seeds from the estuary using 1) establishing the cage traps and from local fishermen to reduce the shortage of seed supply, 2) starting the novel crab fattening units using designed HDPE barrels near the cages to improve the income from the given area. The possibility of trials of salt tolerant rice varieties/poultry, duck and goat farming/agro-eco-tourism were also discussed. Dr Sreekanth GB, Senior Scientist from CCARI also interacted with the officials from fisheries department and Matsyafed regarding various fisheries development projects in the region. He has also requested the supply of organic fish fertiliser developed by Matsyafed for use in the agricultural fields of CCARI and progressive farmers. He assured whole-hearted scientific and technical support for the fisheries activities in the region.