Experts from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), a research unit of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), tested the broodstock and the fish being raised at the Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) Project, at Manikonda in Krishna district on Tuesday.
The team led by RGCA All India Project Director S. Kandan, Aquaculture Genetics and Pathology Lab Project Manager Anup Mandal and other experts, under the guidance of MPEDA Chairman K.S. Srinivas, examined the health conditions of the fish, tested for various viruses and diseases.
“We tested the broodstock and the fish being raised in the experimental ponds and in the cages at different stages. The GIFT Tilapia, also known as aquatic chicken, is in good condition at Manikonda Project in Andhra Pradesh which is the only centre in the country,” Dr. Mandal told The Hindu.
MPEDA has been implementing selective breeding programme, and at present more than 50 unique families of ninth generation of GIFT Tilapia are being maintained under the Indian climatic conditions. The project is directly affiliated with WorldFish, Malaysia, and was working as Nucleus Breeding Centre, said Dr. Kandan.
Dr. Mandal appreciated Assistant Project Managers Gunashekar, Gnanavelu, Mathews, Srinivas and other technical staff for maintaining the ponds and the hatchery with bio-security and in hygienic conditions.
“Experts from the RGCA’s Aquaculture Genetics and Pathology Lab, Sirkali, Tamil Nadu, tested the fish for virus and Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV). They observed that the stocks are absolutely healthy and free from any kind of diseases. Through Tipalia Project at Manikonda, MPEDA is supplying quality and disease-free broodstock to the farmers for the last 10 years,” Dr. Kandan said.
Manikonda project manager B. Appala Naidu explained that 6.3 million of seed has been supplied to the farmers of about six States in the country. This year, RGCA has set a target to supply about 10 million seed to aquaculture farmers across India, he said.
“The inspections have been carried to maintain standards and quality in broodstock. MPEDA-RGCA is giving training to the aquaculture farmers of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra on growing and breeding of GIFT Tilapia,” Mr. Appala Naidu said.
Earlier, the team visited the ponds scanned the fish to check various diseases, tested the water samples and oxygen levels and gave necessary suggestions to the staff for healthy cultivation.
