ICAR-CIFT celebrated its Diamond Jubilee Foundation Day

Inauguration of Diamond Jubilee celebration function by Hon’ble Chief Minister

After a week-long celebration of different programmes starting from 24-28 April, 2017; conducted during the Diamond Jubilee Foundation Day commemoration of ICAR-CIFT, finally it came to an end with a grand function organized at ICAR-CIFT, Cochin on 29th April, 2017. Initially welcoming the gathering, Dr. C.N. Ravishankar, Director, ICAR-CIFT, Cochin said that right from its inception on 29th April 1957; ICAR-CIFT has made commendable contributionsin the realm of Indian fishery sector spreading over a period 60 years which reflecteda perfect blend of knowledge and contemporary scientific achievements in the harvest and post-harvest sectors of fisheries. The Diamond Jubilee Foundation Day function was inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan with gracious presence of Smt. J. MercykuttyAmma, Hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, Harbour Engineering and Cashew Industry, Govt. of Kerala and Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture Adv. V.S. Sunil Kumar and Hon’ble Secretary, DARE, GoI & Director General, ICAR, New Delhi Dr. TrilochanMohapatra and other galaxy of dignitaries on the dais that include Worshipful Mayor of Cochin Municipal Corporation Smt. Soumini Jain, Hon’ble MLA, Kochi Shri J. Maxy and Hon’ble MLA, Ernakulum Shri Hibi Eden.

The Chief Guest of the function, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri. PinarayiVijayan in his address highly appreciated the work of ICAR-CIFT in the field of fishing and fisheries technologies. He also mentioned that the State is proud to have an institute like ICAR-CIFT for the better service to the millions of fishery communities of Kerala. Being impressed with the CIFT technologies showcased in the exhibition, he lauded the commendable work done by the institutefor developing the cost-effective rubber wood, coconut wood canoes and lots of promising fish processing technologies for better income generation. Expressing his concern over the decreasing trend in fish consumption pattern due to the presence of chemicals and antibiotics in fish, hesuggested to ensure healthy and clean environment throughout the fish supply chain; as a part of Haritha Clean Kerala Mission. On this occasion, Hon’ble Chief Minister launched the brand logo of ICAR-CIFT named ‘ciftec’ for popularization of ICAR-CIFT products under unique brand name.

Presiding over the function, Smt. J. MercykuttyAmma, Hon’ble Minister of Fisheries, Harbour Engineering and Cashew Industry, Govt. of Kerala quoted the role of CIFT in modernizing the fisheries sector with the state-of art facilities like NABL accredited laboratories and FSSAI approved national level referral laboratory for fish and fish products. She also applauded the the effort of the scientists for theirresearch initiativeson responsible fishing, energy efficient craft and gears, value added products, quality and safety standards in fish and fishery products through effective transfer of technology mechanism and strong linkage with the Department of Fisheries.

The Guest of Honour Adv. V.S. Sunil Kumar, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture, Govt. of Kerala highlighted the contribution of ICAR-CIFT in fish product development, value addition and development of seafood industries. He stressed that the technologies developed by CIFT and other similar institutions should reach to the fisher folks i.e., end users by developing liaison with line departments to harness the research outcomes for the development of Kerala. Smt. Soumini Jain, Worshipful Mayor of Cochin, said about the recent increasing pollution in the water bodies of Kerala and their effect on fishing and fisheries related aspects.

Dr. TrilochanMohapatra, Secretary DARE and DG, ICAR in his keynote address extolled the successful voyage of ICAR-CIFT over a span of six decades, throughout which the institute has been continuously striving in the fishery technology front and today the  country is proud enough due to itsremarkable scientific contributions in the fields of fish harvesting, processing, packaging, product development, quality assurance and management, neutraceuticals, fishery byproducts, fishery waste utilisation etc. He strongly urged the scientists to reorient the research priorities towards climate change, emerging fish diseases, fish contaminationsetc. to realize the clarion call of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India for bringing a Blue revolution in the country. In this context, he emphasized onentrepreneurship development in fisheryto create more employment opportunities. Shri.Hibi Eden, Hon’ble MLApinpointed the issue of juvenile fishing and appreciated the effort put by ICAR-CIFT in reducing the same through prescribing the minimum legal size. Shri. K.J.Maxy, Hon’ble MLAhighlighted the diminishing fish catch and their consequences on the seafood export units. Dr. Adeena Abdulla, IAS, Sub-Collector, Ernakulam urged for more ICAR institutes in Kerala for the development of agricultural and allied sectors.

During the function, a number of ICAR-CIFT publications, Pictorial Memoir and Souvenir were also released.The programme was also attended by Directors of different ICAR institutes like CIFE, Mumbai; NBFGR, Lucknow; CIFRI, Barackpore; CIBA, Chennai; CTCRI, Thiruvanthapurum; CPCRI, Kasargod; IISR, Calicut; CMFRI, Kochi; Director of Research of KUFOS, KUSATalong with ex -DDG (Fy) Dr. Gopa Kumar, Ex- ASRB Member Dr. Mohan J. Modayil and retired & existing staff of ICAR-CIFT.