New Fisheries Research Centre of CMFRI in West Bengal

The popular Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute or the CMFRI will soon open a new regional research centre which will be based in Digha in West Bengal.

The primary objective behind setting up the 11th regional research centre of CMFRI is to cater to the increasing research as well as development needs as a whole. It will focus on carefully assessing the commercial marine fish stocks which are present in the state of West Bengal. These include hilsa, which is a popular variety of the region.

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Earlier, a sporadic research was continuously being carried out in the states of West Bengal and Odisha, however, a focussed approach was lacking, stated CMFRI director, A. Gopalakrishnan.

CMFRI which comes under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (also known as ICAR) has its headquarters in Kochi. It is regarded as the largest fisheries research institute of the country.

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Developments on the part of CMFRI:

• Development of fisheries management plans for every maritime state has been an important function of the CMFRI.
• Management policies and guidelines are been designed after carefully assessing the conditions which further enhance scientific management of marine fisheries.
• As the population of hilsa is on the declining side, the new regional centre will focus on research activities that aim at conserving the species along with sustainable harvesting activities.
• It has also been providing advisories to both - West Bengal and Odisha governments - to maintain an optimum number of fishing vessels as well managing fish stocks effectively.