The Chennai based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) conducted an awareness-cum-training camp on “Nursery rearing of Asian seabass fish as livelihood development and employment generation intervention for the Scheduled Caste families in the coastal villages of Mayiladuthurai district at Poompuhar College, Poompuhar on 25.02.2026. About 150 people from the coastal villages in the Sirkali taluk participated in the training camp. CIBA has developed an economically viable livelihood development model for the landless agricultural labourers of Scheduled Caste community by utilizing the brackishwater common property resources. There is a huge demand for the nursery reared seabass fingerling size seed (10 to 12.5 cm) to stock in the grow out culture pond/cages since hatcheries can supply only fish fry (<2 cm). Therefore, an intermittent phase of nursery rearing which could grow the fish fry to fingerling size of 10 to 12.5 cm in about 75-90 days is a key economic activity. This nursery rearing being a labour-intensive activity provides employment generation and assured income for the beneficiaries.
Dr. Kuldeep K Lal, Director, ICAR-CIBA emphasized that CIBA has the complete technology package using small net cages along with key inputs-seed, feed, training for its easy adoption by the villagers. CIBA has been demonstrating this technology in all the coastal states with the active participation of Scheduled Caste families, he highlighted. The director also handed over a sum of Rs.4.68 lakhs revenue earned by the beneficiary groups through Seabass Nursery Rearing during the occasion.
Smt. R.Sharmila, Joint Director of Fisheries, Nagapattinam region, Govt. of Tamil Nadu in her felicitation speech informed that the Govt. of India under the Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme provides 40% subsidy for the women and SC/ST population to take up Asian Seabass nursery rearing activity as a livelihood development programme as a group activity and urged the participants to approach the Fisheries Department of Govt. of Tamil Nadu for the same. Dr.C.K.Sivasakthivel, the Principal of the Poompuhar college conveyed his compliments to CIBA team and urged the participants to make use of this important opportunity offered by CIBA and the central and state governments.
In the technical session the scientists from ICAR-CIBA explained vividly about the Seabass nursery rearing technology with visual slides.
Later, the participants were taken to the ICAR-CIBA seabass nursery rearing demonstration unit at Mathampattinam village near Poompuhar to provide a first-hand exposure to the activity. The beneficiaries of the unit practically demonstrated the practices of nursery rearing to the visiting participants. This awareness-cum-training programme was organized as part of Department of Science & Technology supported project being implemented by the ICAR-CIBA in Tamil Nadu. Dr.M.Kailasam, Principal Investigator of the project coordinated the programme with his scientific team Drs. K.Ambasankar, M.Kumaran, R.Jayakumar, P. Mahalakhsmi, R.Subburaj, K.P.Sandeep and Dani Thomas.
