Greetings from the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT), Kochi (India)!

 
ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT) - the only technology Institute in India which caters to the broad spectrum of fisheries from harvest to post-harvest operations – has been in the service of the nation since 1957 under the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), New Delhi.

  
Today, contributions in three vital areas, viz., nutritional security, employment generation and foreign exchange earnings have made fisheries a vibrant sector of the Indian economy. ICAR-CIFT has an increasingly vital role to play in the emerging fisheries scenario of the country. We, as  a premier Fishery Technology institute focus on maintaining a harmonious relation with the fishing and fish processing industries in order to help them in their development and contribute to nation’s economy as well as food security. We take pride in the fact that technologies developed by the Institute have played a vital role in modernizing the harvest and post harvest fishery sectors of India and help making it a major exporter of processed fish and fish products. We are also at the service of the nation as one of the NABL accredited laboratory recognized and as a Referral Laboratory for fish and fishery products that are exported or imported.

  
As a  contribution to the nation’s fishing sector, ICAR-CIFT focuses on basic, strategic and applied research in developing fuel efficient fishing vessels, responsible fishing gears, designing innovative implements & machinery for fishing, Eco-friendly technologies for responsible fishing and low-energy fishing technologies for the traditional sector. Our engineering divisions take pride in the development of conservation technologies to facilitate utilization of fishery resources on a long term sustainable basis, minimization of biodiversity loss and conservation of energy in harvest and post-harvest operations in fisheries. Our institute has also been in the forefront of recommending standards for netting, netting yarn and netting twine used for fishing and standardization of fishing gear accessories.

  
The Post-harvest technology divisions of ICAR-CIFT lay stress on complete utilization of resources and includes in its ambit handling and preservation right from harvesting, value addition, waste management and quality assurance. The Institute has supported the fish processing industry since its nascent stage and still continuing to do so by developing technologies for preservation and processing of almost all commercially important varieties of fish, shell fish like shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, lobster tails, pomfrets, mackerel, sardines, crab, clam, mussel, oyster and other categories of seafood. Just to name a few, Our colleagues in ICAR-CIFT  have successfully developed technology packages viz.,  for (i) value added fish products and specialty products, (ii) fish/shrimp based convenience products, (iii) fish processing equipments, sensors and measurement systems for fisheries and environmental applications, (iv) commercial isolation of bioactive compounds and industrially important products from fish and fishery wastes, apart from (v) providing technical expertise/consultancy in scientific waste management  practices and (vi) value-chain approach, including packaging systems, for utilization of small pelagics, freshwater fishes, oceanic tuna resources and oceanic squid resources are to name a few.

 
On the human resource development front, ICAR-CIFT offers its premier technical expertise and advice for entrepreneurship development in the form of developing food safety standards for the fishing and fish processing industries. The institute also interacts with several international agencies in the process of developing technologies and standards for fish processing or fishing, including human resource development. The Institute offers structured and demand driven training programmes - on responsible fishing, fish processing, value addition, packaging, microbiology, HACCP and quality control systems for seafood – for the benefit of prospective entrepreneurs / industry / students alike.  We at ICAR-CIFT are always making every effort to empower the weaker sections of society including the fishermen, fisherwomen, the rural poor and the financially backward community, through training and technology transfer. The Institute is in the forefront of technology dissemination for the upliftment of tribal population through Tribal Sub Plan Programmes.  The technology transfer programmes of ICAR-CIFT has undergone a sea change with the establishment of an innovation based Business Incubation Centre (BIC), the only one of its kind in the fisheries sector with the aim of acting as a catalyst for economic growth by combining the features of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and business facilitation. The BIC cater primarily to the small scale entrepreneurs and innovators by handholding them to venture into food business enterprises through IPR enabled ICAR technologies.

 
As an ISO 9001:2008 certified organisation, ICAR-CIFT has the capacity to meet any challenge faced by the industry in all fields related to fisheries due to its strength of trained and experienced team of Scientists well supported by technical and supporting staffs. The success of ICAR-CIFT is because of dedication and hard work by its staff. The Institute believes in networking with researchers / academia both internationally and nationally on any aspect of fishing or fish processing that will help to strengthen the knowledge for the benefit of our nation. If you are an individual / organization (Governmental / non-Governmental – National or International) interested in learning or in development of fishing or fish processing in India, you are at the right place! We welcome you to explore our website and find the information you require or contact us!


We at ICAR-CIFT pledge to the nation that we will give our best to meet the challenges ahead and ensure that our Institute reaches newer heights in addressing needs of our nation with utmost responsibility.

Dr. George Ninan
Director

“Fish is an inevitable component for the Global nutritional security and there is no future without fish”