CMFRI’s novel venture yields bumper harvest of green mussels

An experimental farming on a business scale has proved that the ground breaking farming engineering — Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) apply — is profitable and properly suited to Kerala’s ecosystem.

A bumper harvest of inexperienced mussel was recorded in the integrated farming put together with cage fish and seaweed farming undertaken by the Central Maritime Fisheries Investigation Institute underneath participatory method with fish farmers in Moothakunnam in Ernakulam district.

The IMTA combines appropriate proportions of fish, seaweeds and filter feeding bivalves in farming to produce well balanced methods for environmental and financial security. CMFRI started off the undertaking in December last calendar year as component of its analysis initiative for building a sustainable cage fish farming design suited for Kerala’s ecosystem.

Better generate

The first harvest among the the three crops of the integrated farming, yielded around one tonne of inexperienced mussel from a hundred and fifty strings hung around as a lot of as 4 fish cages. Individual mussels grew to the dimension of 72 g which is a profitable advancement amount in mussel farming. Even as the harvest was getting area through the Covid lockdown, the total develop sold out in no time as there was a huge demand for inexperienced mussels.

A superior harvest with better advancement amount of inexperienced mussel showed that IMTA apply is economically feasible and properly suited to Kerala’s affliction. A scientific workforce led by Shoji Joseph, Principal Scientist of CMFRI, also observed that the fishes within the cage attained better advancement and seaweed staying cultured around the cage showed healthier status with fast advancement amount. Fish will be harvested by the close of the future month.

CMFRI Director A Gopalakrishnan claimed the institute would choose measures to popularise the IMTA apply throughout the coastal States as in the situation of cage fish farming. CMFRI has successfully made a design of IMTA apply on open sea waters of Tamil Nadu which allows coastal persons fetch elevated earnings.