CMFRI Visakhapatnam centre initiated study on cage farming of ‘ghol’ fish, says Director

ICAR-CMFRI Director A. Gopalakrishnan says the Visakhapatnam Regional Centre has taken up studies on capture-based culture of ‘ghol’ fish

The most expensive fish species in India, ‘ghol’, commonly called black spotted croaker, may soon be bred in cages. The Visakhapatnam Regional Centre of ICAR – Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), has already taken up studies on capture-based culture of ‘ghol’ fish, according to ICAR-CMFRI Director A. Gopalakrishnan.

The CMFRI Director was in the city to dedicate the indigenously developed Recirculatory Aquaculture System (RAS) for nursery rearing of finfishes to the nation, at the CMFRI Regional Centre here on Monday.

‘Ghol’, scientifically known as protonibea dicanthus, commands a very high price in the international market. Its air bladder, which is used in the wine industry, commands a high price. It costs anywhere between ₹40,000 and ₹50,000, a kg. Though it’s available in our seas, it’s not widely distributed, Mr. Gopalakrishnan told The Hindu in an exclusive chat on the sidelines of the inaugural function.

The other species, being developed by the Vizag centre, through cage farming are black pomfret and silver pomfret, which also command a good price in the open market. The CMRI Vizag centre, the forerunner for open sea cage farming in India, has demarcated areas along the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Yanam, which are suitable for cage farming in the sea.

Open sea cage farming was started at four locations in Visakhapatnam, Balasore (Odisha), Chennai and Kochi in 2003. However, the Vizag centre was the first one to successfully harvest 3.5 tons of fish through cage culture in 2005.

“Cage breeding prevents contact with other species and helps in producing disease-free, high quality seedlings. The technology is being extended to nurseries. While the cost of producing 1 kg of fish is around ₹210, the farm gate price commands between ₹380 to ₹400, giving good returns to the fish farmer,” he said.

The CMFRI Visakhapatnam centre is also responsible for monitoring of the stock, and a pioneer in assessing the stock status from time to time. It was instrumental in the listing of around 72 species, which helped the State Fisheries Department to formulate management policies in fisheries.