KUFOS to Host a Seminar to ‘Re-orient Aquaculture Strategy’ from Jan 6

The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and the State Fisheries Department are collaborating to create a suitable fisheries culture for the state and reorient aquaculture strategies accordingly.

About Seminar:

To speed up the efforts, fisheries think tanks from across the country, including scientists, industrialists, and farmers, will gather at KUFOS on January 6 & 7 for a 2-day national seminar on 'Reorienting the strategies towards sustainable aquaculture and fisheries,' which will draft reorientation strategies for a better fisheries model.

According to K Riji John, Vice-Chancellor of KUFOS, the strategy reorientation exercise will involve up to 300 scientists, industrialists, farmers, and fisheries department officials.

Saji Cheriyan, State Fisheries Minister and Pro-Chancellor of KUFOS, will officially open the seminar on January 6. The function will be presided over by former Fisheries Minister K Babu MLA. The keynote address will be delivered by R Ramkumar, a member of the State Planning Board.

KUFOS, as the country's first Fisheries and Ocean Studies University, has the responsibility to play a key role in reorienting the Indian aquaculture scenario to newer directions by establishing a better State-level model that can multiply the income of the farming community in a sustainable way, according to Riji John.

The current seminar is being held against this backdrop, with the goal of providing an ideal platform for researchers, academics, farmers, industrialists, and policymakers to advance the concept of sustainability and channel their activities in new directions.

Importance of Sustainable Aquaculture:

• Sustainable aquaculture may hold the key to feeding our expanding population. At the moment, 42 percent of the seafood we consume is farmed, but there are no regulations defining what "good" aquaculture is

• Unfortunately, many unsustainable aquaculture practices exist, such as taking too many wild fish out of the ocean to feed farmed fish. This could be the key to ensuring food security, but aquaculture must first become safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.