Pizhala island village ushers in fish farming revolution PTI News dated 22nd December 2016

A tiny island village in Kerala's scenic backwaters is in the limelight for ushering in a fish farming revolution. The farmers, including women's groups in Pizhala island near Kochi, yielded a mega harvest of pearl spot, seabass and tilapia in cage culture. Around 100 farmers took part in as many as 60 cage farming enterprises under the guidance of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Pizhala Island in Kadamakkudi Panchayat. The farming was started seven months ago by stocking fish seeds in cages made of GI pipes with the size of four metre each width and length and six metre depth. "During the harvest done prior to Christmas, the farmers got seabass with an average weight of 3.5 kg and pearl spot weighing 250 grams," a CMFRI official said. He said CMFRI's Mariculture Division gave training and technical guidance to farmers at various stages, from the stocking period to the harvest, to make the enterprise a grand success