In May this year, fishermen watched a giant, 17-metre contraption being lowered into the rough sea off the coast of Visakhapatnam. This, they were told, was a ‘cage’ for fish farming. Fish in cages, they wondered, as India’s first ‘open sea cage project’, an eco-friendly method of fish farming, was fabricated and launched in Visakhapatnam by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The project, backed by the Ministry of Agriculture, is expected to produce high-quality yield, and if successful, could usher in a revolution of sorts along coastal India.

“We have been talking and planning cage culture for years and have seen it work in China, Japan and Indonesia. But for the first time, we decided to launch the project off Visakhapatnam and I think it is going to be a great success,” said Dr. G. Syda Rao, principal scientist and scientist in charge, Regional Centre of CMFRI at Visakhapatnam.

A CMFRI team, led by its director Dr. Mohan Joseph Modayil set about designing India’s first open sea cage, keeping in mind the rough Bay of Bengal. “That is the advantage other countries have. Their seas are much calmer and quieter than the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal,” said Dr. Rao.

The CMFRI finally decided to go ahead with its cage adventure, risking rough seas, cyclonic conditions and high-speed winds. In May this year, the first indigenously designed cage, costing Rs 6.5 lakh, was installed at a distance of about 350 metres from the Vizag beach and at a depth of 12 metres.

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