Hatchery for Asian Seabass established

Chennai, Aug 27 (UNI) An exclusive hatchery has been established at the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) to popularise seed production technology and culture of Asian Seabass ('koduva' variety of fish) here.

The Rs 473 lakh facility was set up under the Indo-French Collaborative Programme at the Muttukadu Experimental Station of CIBA, an official statement released here yesterday said.

The French Government offered a soft loan of Rs 273 lakh in the form of hatchery design and equipment, while Indian Council for Agricultural Research supported other facilities to the tune of Rs 200 lakh.

Asian Seabass is a commercial variety of fish suitable for farming in sea, brackishwater and freshwater ecosystems. It is one of the highly 'farmable' table fish and could be cultured in pond and cages.

This fish was extensively cultured in South Asian countries and Australia.

But the problem in the large scale adaptation of Asian Seabass farming in India was the availability of quality seeds and the CIBA had developed a technology for seed production of Asian Seabass under controlled conditions.

The hatchery was inaugurated by Dr Mangala Rai, Union Government Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education.

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