About

The engineering discipline undertakes research and development activities for technological interventions in the field of harvest and post-harvest sector of fisheries, which include the development of indigenous equipment/machinery for small-scale fish processing units, applications of electronics & instrumentation, AI/IoT/Automation applications in the post-harvest fisheries, and fishing vessel design and inspection. Focused areas of research are on the development of cost-effective solar dryers with LPG, electrical, gasifier, and biomass backup heating systems, Advanced drying techniques like hot air-assisted continuous infrared and microwave drying systems, fish descaling machines, ergonomic and gender-friendly designs of fish vending kiosks, non-destructive methods of fish freshness evaluation, energy and water optimization techniques for the fish processing industry, tools for quality improvement of Indian fishing fleet, future refrigeration systems, etc. The engineering division constitutes an engineering workshop, electronics and instrumentation lab, fishing vessel design and inspection section, refrigeration cell, drawing & design room with CAD facility, and exhibition room cum museum.

Major Areas of Research

• Design and development of fish processing equipment and machinery
• Design and development of energy-efficient and eco-friendly solar fish dryers
• Energy and water optimization techniques for the fish processing industry
• Studies on the non-invasive sensor for assessing fish quality and freshness
• Ergonomic and gender-friendly design of fish vending equipment
• Design and development of indigenous electronic instruments for application in harvest and post-harvest technology of fish
• Future refrigeration systems

Major Research Findings

• Design and development of solar dryers with LPG, biomass, and electrical backup for continuous and hygienic drying of fish even under unfavorable weather conditions. The dryers are available with a wide range of capacities starting from 10 kg to a maximum of 100 kg.
• Design and development of hot air-assisted continuous infrared and microwave drying systems
• Design and development of modern, hygienic, and refrigeration-enabled Mobile Fish Vending Kiosk
• Design and development of a Multipurpose solar thermal energy conversion system for fish drying, water heating, and DC power with gasifier backup
• Mobile alert system for dryer users as a real-time information support system for the users
• Development of less emission biomass dryer
• Development of solar tunnel dryer for bulk drying of fish
• Development of solar-powered automatic fish feed dispenser
• Design and development of hand-operated fish descaling equipment with loading capacities of 3-5 kg. Operating conditions were standardized for various fish species
• Design and development of motor-operated fish descaling machines with fixed drum speed and variable drum speed at capacities ranging from 5-10 kg. Operating conditions were standardized for various fish species
• Design and development of portable, multi-purpose, household electrical dryer of 10 kg capacity for micro-scale drying of fish and fishery products with lower capital investment
• Design and development of energy and cost-efficient batch-type Infrared Dryer prototype (5 kg capacity) for fish
• Developed Peltier-based 12 V battery-operated specimen collection and transport device of 5 L capacity
• Design, construction, and popularization of FRP boats for reservoirs, NEH regions, and backwaters

General Facilities

• Engineering workshop
• Electronics and instrumentation Lab
• Refrigeration cell with cold storage and deep freezer plant
• Drawing and design room with CAD facility
• Exhibition room cum museum
• Conference hall (Air conditioned) with a capacity of 110 persons
• Dr. A.N. Bose auditorium (Air conditioned) with a capacity of 300 persons

Consultancies

• Testing and inspection of marine engines
• Design of solar dryers of various capacities
• Customized design of refrigeration-enabled mobile fish vending kiosk/Fish descaling machines
• Design of ETP for seafood processing industries and fish landing centers

Commercialization

• Engineering equipment and machinery are commercialized through the ICAR-CIFT empanelled agencies
• Solar dryers, Refrigerated fish vending kiosk, Smoking kiln and Fish descaling machines were commercialized across the country