State-run Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has kick-started a major project for boosting the open sea cage farming in Indian waters by launching a training course for 5,000 fishermen. Cage fish culture or farming is a practice of growing fish in confined areas, which facilitate feeding, harvesting and other management procedures. It has been established as an intensive fish farming system and India, with its abundant water bodies, including the backwaters, estuaries and offshore sea, offers tremendous potential for cage farming. This method is prevalent and quite successful in Vietnam and Scandinavian countries. While speaking on the inauguration of the training programme, CMFRI director A Gopalakrishnan said the cage fish farming technology has proved 70 times more productive than the normal methods of the fish farming in ponds. Conventional pond culture of marine fishes produce an average 0.5 kg/m3 (5000 kg/ha) whereas cage farming offers a production of 35 kg/m3, he said. Referring to the scarcity of the fish seed required for boosting the cage fish farming, Gopalakrishnan said CMFRI has already commenced the process to establish a brood bank of high value marine fishes suitable for cage farming with a financial support of Rs 9 crore from the NFDB. CMFRI will extend all technical support to the fishermen to start cage farming enterprises in the open sea waters which will become an additional income to the fishermen and will help increase the marine fish production of the country, he said, adding that CMFRI’s door would be always open to the fishermen community. Mariculture Division of the CMFRI is coordinating the training programme to fishermen. Imelda Joseph, head of Mariculture Division said the country should turn to mariculture such as open sea cage farming to meet the growing demand for fish. It is presumed that by 2030, fish consumption in developing and developed countries is expected to increase by 57% and 4% respectively, she said, adding that the open sea cage farming proved economically viable as it required comparatively less cost of capital input. Species such as cobia, seabass, groupers, snappers, mullet, lobster and pearl spot are highly suitable for cage farming in sea waters, Joseph added. It is expected that the sea cage farming will get a major boost once the National Mariculture Policy is notified and comes in force in the country in near future. The project envisages accelerating the process for ushering in the Blue Revolution’ by providing effective training to 5,000 fishermen across the country with a financial support of nearly Rs 1 crore from the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) under the ministry of agriculture. In the first phase of the project, a three-day training programme began at the CMFRI in Kochi on Monday. As many as 50 fishermen from Ernakulam and Thrissur districts, who have registered with the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Board, are attending the training. As part of the project, CMFRI will provide training to 1,000 fishermen in Kerala.