Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR visited ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIBA) on 1st December and interacted with Heads of Division and unit in-charges of various sections about the newer developments in research areas in CIBA Chennai, and its impact on the sector. Scientists explained the highlights of research outputs and technology transfer in the areas of species diversification, feed biotechnology, disease management, genetics & genomics and societal interventions. Honourable DG suggested the importance of prioritization giving special focus on important finfish species such as Grey mullets and Red snapper. He applauded the work on P. indicus genomics and suggested application of bio-informatics for better understanding the functional aspects and publish the results in journals with high impact factor. For developing a breeding programme of Indian white shrimp, he suggested that the Institute must be in continuous consultation with the stakeholders and Ministry through ICAR. He has expressed happiness over the contribution of the Institute on development of feeds for aquaculture species and advised for continued engagement with the private sector in adopting indigenous feed technologies. The Secretary advised for persistent engagement with aqua farmers and critical analyses of the impact of CIBA technologies, for better visibility. He impressed upon the need of comprehensive database on brackishwater aquaculture sector. He also advised to take the CIBA technologies to the end users using all the communication channels including social media, for better diffusion and wider adoption. The DG ICAR expressed his overall happiness over the progress made by CIBA and encouraged scientists to continue to contribute to the sector. Dr. S.V Alavandi, Director I/C and Dr. K.Ambasankar, Principal Scientist and in Charge of Nutrition section co-ordinated the visit.
