The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) observed the ‘World Fisheries Day’ at Kottaikadu village in Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu. During this occasion, the fisher youths of Idaikazhinadu panchayat were mobilised to create awareness on the importance of conservation of aquatic resources which provides a livelihood to millions of people and motivated them to preserve the natural habitats and ensure the sustainability of marine and brackish water ecosystems. As part of the day, the fisher youths were given off-campus experiential training on “Grow-out cage culture of finfish (Asian Seabass Lates calcarifer)”. CIBA in collaboration with the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai fabricated and deployed a grow-out cage of size 4.3 m x 3.1m in the backwaters of Buckingham canal. The fisher youths were provided hands-on training on cage fabrication and deployment. In commemoration of the ‘World Fisheries Day,’ the youths were trained in pre-grow out the culture of finfishes. They were trained on handling the fish juveniles of 180-200g size which were reared in pre-grow out cages. About 270 numbers of Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) fish juveniles were collected from pre-grow out cages and stocked in the grow-out cage for further rearing. The fisher youths were trained in sampling and biomass calculation to estimate the feed requirement for the fishes. They expressed that they were enriched by this first-time experience of field level aquaculture technology and showed a keen interest in taking up cage culture in the open brackishwaters.
