Karimeen Seed Producers’ Group Founded To Make Quality Pearl Spot Seeds Available In Kerala

The Karimeen Seed Producers Group was founded by the Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) to make quality pearl spot (karimeen) seeds available to fish farmers in Kerala.

Fish farmers who have received technical assistance from KVK in seed production are among the members. The goal is to promote pearl spot seed production as a viable aquaculture enterprise and to encourage young people to the industry.

"For the last five years, KVK has been distributing fish seeds grown by trained fish farmers in Ernakulam's production facilities. The newly created group of efficient farmers would assist in satisfying the state's scarcity of quality seeds," Ernakulam KVK Head Shinoj Subramannian  remarked.

KVK's attempts to build pearl spot seed production units in the district's coastal areas are also expected to benefit from the programme.

Contact 8281757450 or 9995874050 to purchase pearl spot seeds.

Karimeen - Innovative Initiative

The Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) in Chennai has created a new method that allows the fish Pearlspot to be easily propagated through breeding in controlled environments. The fish pearlspot (Etroplus suratensis), also called as "Karimeen" in Kerala, is a delicious table fish that sells for up to Rs.350 per kilogramme. It may be cultivated in ponds and cages under large and intense farming in freshwater and saltwater eco-systems. It may be produced in backyard ponds as a means of poverty alleviation and high-value fish production in areas like Kerala.

CIBA established a simple and effective facility for consistent seed production of this fish species at its Muttukadu Field Centre, where it successfully developed a captive broodstock of pearlspot fish in cages from a diverse genetic pool (from Pulicat and Muttukadu in Tamil Nadu and Kumarakam in Kerala). A pair of parent fish may produce an average of 1200 offspring. The "Matsya Keralam" Scheme has embarked on a vast programme of brackish-water fish farming on a big scale, resulting in an increase in demand for high-quality pearlspot fish juveniles. The hatchery produced pearlspot seeds were first distributed to Kerala Women Self Help Group fish growers on July 2, 2011.