Livelihood enhancement through cage farming -A success story

Cage culture is an emerging technology suitable to a wide range of freshwater ecosystems, brackish water ecosystems or in open seas through which freshwater or brackish water or marine fishes are reared from fry to fingerling, fingerling to table size or table size to marketable size under captivity in an enclosed space that maintains free exchange of water with the surrounding water body. It is estimated that there are 12.40 lakh ha of brackish water resources in India, comprise of backwaters, estuaries, lakes, tidal creeks, canals, coastal lagoons, mudflats, etc. and the estuarine waters in India are highly productive. Cage fish farming in the estuarine waters can be recommended as an alternative livelihood and income generation programme for the coastal population. Recently, Central Government and Kerala State Fisheries department are providing financial assistance for promotion of cage farming