Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan Project – Sea Cage Farming Harvest Mela Madras Regional Station, ICAR-CMFRI, Chennai

With a vision to improve the livelihood of schedule caste fisher folks, six sea cages were installed by 3 beneficiary groups under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan project at Kottaikadu Village, Cheyyur Taluk, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu. The cage reared sea bass fishes on attaining the marketable size and weight were harvested on 7 November 2024 in the presence of Department of Fisheries officials, Village Administration Officer, Panchayat leaders, Panchayat members, beneficiaries of different groups involved in cage farming and the staff members of Madras Regional Station of ICAR-CMFRI.Around 2.5 tones of healthy fishes were harvested with an average weight of 2.0 Kg and immediately marketed to traders arranged by the fishermen. The total revenue generated was Rs. 8,89,471. The cheque was handed over to the leaders of beneficiary groups involved in the cage farming. The ICAR-CMFRI open sea cage technology was well adopted by the fishermen of scheduled caste community which in turn helped them to generate more revenue and make them self sufficient by improving their livelihood.