KOCHI:In a successful foray into a largely male preserve, a group of 40 women managed to reap a bumper harvest in oyster and mussel farming at Muthakunnam in the district.Under the guidance of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), the women formed 13 groups and started oyster and mussel farming last November.
They prepared 13 farms of 5-metre length and 5-metre width for the purpose. Each group got around 1.5 tonnes of oyster and they harvested a total of 20 tonnes.Each unit used around 100 coir ropes for planting oyster seeds. The Molluscan Fisheries division of the CMFRI provided the technical advice for oyster and mussel farming. Each unit harvested around 1.25 tonnes of mussels from the farms. According to CMFRI, oyster and mussel farming is cheaper compared to fish farming.
There is no need to provide feed and the only expense is setting up the farm using bamboo poles and coir ropes. Around 125 kg of oyster seed is needed to set up one farm unit. Farms can be set up in saline water ponds near estuaries.
The processed oyster and mussels are available at CMFRI from 10 am to 4 pm on working days. Oyster is sold at `600 per kg while mussels are available at `660 per kg, a CMFRI release stated.