Fishing in India - Institutes

Institutes

There are several specialized institutes that train fishermen. The Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training in Juhu instructs operators of deep-sea fishing vessels and technicians for shore establishments. It has facilities in Madras and Vishakhapatnam for about 500 trainees a year. An Institute named “Fisheries Institute of Technology and Training” (FITT) was established with the participation of TATAs in Tamil Nadu, to improve the socioeconomic condition of fishers. The Integrated Fisheries Project, also headquartered in Kochi, was established for the processing, popularizing, and marketing of unusual fish. Another training organization, the Central Institute of Coastal Engineering for Fisheries in Bangalore, has done techno-economic feasibility studies on locations of fishing harbor sites and brackish-water fish farms. At present there are 19 Fisheries colleges and one fisheries university (CIFE: Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai)functioning in various states of the country,providing Professional Fisheries education with a view of developing Professionalism in the field of Fisheries. Among the fisheries colleges, Fisheries college and Research Institute located in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu is the more popular college because of the maximum number of intake of MFSc and PhD candidates every year. Other colleges such as the College of Fisheries, Panangad, College of Fisheries, and Mangalore are also working well for the professionalism.

To improve returns to fishermen and provide better products for consumers, several states have organized marketing cooperatives for fishermen. Nevertheless, most traditional fishermen rely on household members or local fish merchants for the disposal of their catches. In some places, marketing is carried on entirely by fisherwomen who carry small quantities in containers on their heads to nearby places. Good wholesale or retail markets are rare.