BHUBANESWAR: Deputy director general (fisheries science) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) JK Jena urged fish farmers to adopt genetically improved varieties of fish and shellfish for better productivity.
Speaking at the national consultative meet organised by Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) in collaboration with Association of Aquaculturists, he said genetic improvement work is underway at Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai and Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai for Magur and shrimp respectively.
“CIFA has also developed AhR-Jayanti for aeromonas hydrophila resistance in rohu. These improved strains need wide scale dissemination so that farmers and entrepreneurs are benefited,” he said.The two-day meet has been organised to take stock of the current status of on-going genetic improvement programmes, share experiences by research groups and draw a road map for dissemination of improved strains within and outside the country.
The improved rohu (trademarked as Jayanti), CIFA GI scampi and GI catla have been developed by CIFA, Bhubaneswar with distinct yield advantage to the tune of 60, 30 and 30 per cent respectively. Union joint secretary of the department of Fisheries Sagar Mehra underscored the mass scale availability of the improved varieties of fish and shellfish.