KOCHI: Market studies suggest that customers overwhelmingly prefer live edible fish, as it eliminates the risk of chemical preservatives. However, transporting fish alive is easier said than done and is a problem that many aquaculture farmers struggle with.
Thankfully, Kochi-based Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) has found a solution — a new technology that would make transportation of live fish and other aquatic animals safer, more efficient and best of all, chemical-free.
The CIFT research team recently bagged the Indian patent for the invention ‘An apparatus for hypothermic anesthetisation of aquatic animals prior to live transport using non-cyclic refrigeration’.
The novel system uses controlled low-temperature treatment to anaesthetise fish before transportation, without using chemicals. The cooling is done gradually and as per the requirement of the species, helping prevent sudden temperature shock and improve survival during transport.
“The technology will help aquaculture farmers transport live edible fish ensuring minimum mortality,” said a scientist associated with the research.
Explaining the process, the scientist said, “The fish would be kept in a box and the temperature of the water would be lowered gradually, causing the fish to turn dormant with minimum metabolic activity and oxygen consumption. Once the box reaches the destination, the temperature would be raised gradually and the fish will start moving.” The system can keep the fish dormant for 12 hours.
Live transportation of fish has always been a concern for farmers and traders. During transportation, crowding, and handling and loading before transport evokes physiological stress response resulting in increased oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide excretion and waste production in fish. This can rapidly lower the water quality, perpetuating a further, more stressful environment.
Prolonged effects of stress before and during transport include high mortality, reduced resistance to disease and poor growth performance.
The patented system offers a practical solution by making the process more reliable and suitable for small and medium-scale users. The technology was developed under a project supported by the department of science and technology. The research team comprised Parvathy U, Murali S, Binsi P K, Sathish Kumar K, Ravishankar C N, Jithin T Joy and Vishnu R Nair.