Forecasting in the Indian multispecies marine ecosystem was being attempted with the CMFRI data base together with the fishery related environmental data and meterological data from the Indian meterological department, CMFRI director, V Narayana Pillai told a press conference here. Department of space was also taking interest in this area, he said.

With the Indian marine fisheries stock nearly optimally exploited warranting close monitoring of the exploitation and effective management based on sound research support, the institute proposes to strengthen the research in this area to enable it to provide the required data base and advise to the industry, managers and planners, he said.

The institute was also actively collaborating with the space application centre, Ahmedabad, the national remote sensing agency,Hyderabad, national institute of oceanography (NIO) and fisheries survey institute (FSI) in the ocean colour monitor associated programmes to strengthen the existing potential fishing zones.

The institute was also collaborating with seven developing countries in the Asian region, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh in the project on sustainable management of coastal fish stocks in Asia, funded by Asian Development Bank, Pillai said.

He said greater thrust would be given to the development and improvement of seafarming with coastal mariculture technologies to help the fishery sector to achieve additional two million tonne production.

Under the national agricultural technology project (NATP), the CMFRI would handle three major programmes for the development of coastal regions in the country with possibilities of import substitution, export market development and employment generation in the region, Pillai said.

Sanction has already been accorded to the Rs one crore nutrition and pathology ofmariculture and shrimp with CMFRI a lead centre and Rs 1.5 crore fish broodstock development project to be carried out at Mandapam centre under the central institute of brackish water and aquaculture, Chennai. The institute was expecting sanction for the mariculture of pearl oysters, costing Rs 1.4 crore.

He said the Kerala government was planning to take up with the external affairs ministry the proposed Indo-Australian fisheries project which would be useful to the fishing community in southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He said the ministry wanted Kerala to partly fund the project.

Referring to the trawling ban, he said it was a policy decision taken by the government.