Field visit to mussel cum cage culture sites and interaction with fishermen at Kundapura

    A field visit cum interaction was organized with the fishermen cum fish farmers of Panchagangavali estuary at Kundapura, Udupi coastal district on 13 December 2024. A total of eight fishermen (three SC) were present during the interaction. The fishermen follows a unique way of green mussel farming known as on bottom culture, which is not common in the other coastal region. The mussel seeds are spread uniformly along the bottom of the estuary and the site will be encircled by circular net cover. The mussel seeds are currently spread for the on bottom culture, which will be ready for harvest by March-April (culture period of 4-5 months). Following to this, the cage culture of seabass, red snapper, pearlspot and rabbit fish were also monitored. The crabs stocked for fattening in the HDPE barrels were checked and necessary suggestions were provided. An interaction was also organized with the crab export dealer, Mr. Sudhir and explored the possibilities of linking of the fishermen with him for mud crab marketing. He also expressed his interest for establishing the crab fattening units in the estuary with multiple systems. The operation of low cost estuarine fish trap for the collection of fish seeds (red snapper, rabbit fish and crab) for the cage culture was also demonstrated. The fishermen also expressed their novel methods for farming fish, mussel and crabs together in order to diversify the fish culture and increase farm income. Dr Sreekanth GB, Senior Scientist from ICAR-CCARI appreciated the efforts of fishermen and assured continuous support for their endeavors in fisheries.