Mariculture in India is set to get a big boost with the city-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) successfully developing seed production technology for Indian pompano (Trachinotus mookalee), which has high commercial value both in the domestic and international markets. Fifth achievement This is the fifth of its kind achievement made by the CMFRI after the institute developed seed production technology for cobia, silver pompano, orange spotted grouper and pink ear emperor. Indian pompano (locally known as avoli vatta) is the most suitable species for cage culture considering its fast growth rate, easy adaptability to culture conditions, quick acceptance of artificial feed, good meat quality and high consumer preference, says a press release from the CMFRI. Breeding and seed production technology of the species were developed at the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of CMFRI after two years of research. The technology was developed with the help of Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS), a new facility in fish farming. Indian pompano belongs to the Carangidae family, which is distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region and is reported to be present in 15 countries of the Asian continent. In India, the presence of the fish has been reported from both the west and the east coasts. It is a marine fish with sporadic occurrences in bays and lagoons and the adult fish prefer shallow coastal waters with rocky areas. Mass production According to A. Gopalakrishnan, director of CMFRI, this is the first report of successful mass scale seed production of Indian pompano in the world. The achievement is a major breakthrough in Indian mariculture business, which will help the farming community use the hatchery produced seeds of Indian pompano for cage farming, he said.