CMFRI,Andaman admin ink MoU on marine fish catch data collection

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-affiliated Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the Andaman and Nicobar Administration on Wednesday entered into an agreement on online data collection of marine fish catch at various places in the archipelago.

The data collection was launched on the same day when the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was entered into, according to a CMFRI release.

As part of the agreement, CMFRI introduced its sampling methodology for the estimation and analysis of the catch data through Fish Catch Survey and Analysis (FCSA) software from 74 landing centres of the islands by using electronic tablets, the release said.

''The institute also trained the enumerators, deployed by the Andaman administration, to collect the catch data using CMFRI methodology. This is the first time the marine fish catch data is collected from the archipelago with statistically supported software,'' it said.

The initiative was inaugurated by Andaman Fisheries Secretary G Sudhakar, who in his speech at the event stated that introduction of CMFRI’s methodology would help the islands generate a reliable database on marine fish catch and fishing efforts which will help fix various developmental plans in the island’s marine fisheries sector, the release said.

''CMFRI’s support will help estimate both resource-wise and fishing gear-wise fish landings,'' he is quoted as having said at the event.

He also sought CMFRI’s technical support in the development of deep-sea fishing, seaweed farming and cage fish farming in the Andaman islands, the release said.

CMFRI Director A Gopalakrishnan, who also spoke at the event, claimed that CMFRI has been regularly collecting marine fish catch data from all the fish landing centres in the country using this software, which is also recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN.

''Though the data is collected for research purposes, CMFRI shares the information with the government of India and the coastal states who have inked MoU with the institute,'' he is quoted to have said in the release.

CMFRI has already signed MoUs with Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in collecting marine fish catch data, he said and added that the Andaman islands were highly prospective for the marine ornamental fishery, seaweed farming and cage fish farming, according to the release.

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