Field visit and Interaction with fish farmer at Kottappuram, Thrissur, Kerala

    A field visit was organised to the cage culture farm (10 cages) at Kottappuram, Thrissur coastal district, Kerala on 7 November 2024. Mr Shibu S, practice cage culture of seabass, red snapper and box culture of crabs in Kodungallur-Azhikode estuary for the last 12 years, with the support from KUFOS, Kochi, ICAR-CMFRI and Directorate of Fisheries, Govt. of Kerala. Dr Sreekanth GB, Senior Scientist from CCARI interacted with the farmer and discussed regarding the pertinent issues in the cage culture and crab box culture. The farmer replied that water quality changes in the region when the salinity drops is a major concern for red snapper species. The discussion also included the collection of natural fish seeds from the estuary using 1) 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. The farmer also shared his interest to initiate the live fish trade in the region to effect a higher price of the farmer fish. The farmer was assured full support from the institute for his initiatives in fisheries and coastal agriculture.