Climate Resilient Mariculture Technologiesfor Food and Nutritional Security

In India, marine fish production is achieved through capture fisheries and mariculture- culturing of finfish, shellfish, seaweed, etc., in the sea. Increasing protein demand has to be met through increased marine fish production. As marine capture fisheries is in a stagnating phase, the additional fish production has to be achieved through mariculture. Technologies like cage farming and seaweed farming are being promoted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) for more than a decade. These interventions assisted in enhancing the marine fish production and income of the fishers. One of the anticipated issues while expanding sea cage farming is the increased organic and inorganic load in the water and consequent disease problems. In this context, the concept of bio-mitigation along with increased biomass production can be adopted by integrating different groups of commercially important aquatic species that are having varied feeding habits. This concept is known as Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA). The environmental and economic stability and social acceptability is ensured through IMTA. The ICAR-CMFRI has successfully demonstrated IMTA under participatory mode with a fishermen group by integrating seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii with cage farming of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). Through demonstration, the total seaweed produced under IMTA was 2.2 times higher than the control. Similarly, the cobia yield was 1.3 times higher than the control. Additionally, the total amount of carbon sequestered into farmed seaweed was 2.2 times higher than the control. At present in adoption stage, the total seaweed produced under IMTA was 3.1 times higher than the control. Integration of seaweed with cobia cages favorably generates additional revenue and is efficient in reducing both organic and inorganic matter from unutilized feed and excreta and thereby ensuring ecological balances. It is also one of the significant mitigating measures on the adverse impact of climate change and earns carbon credit to our country.