Coldwater fisheries have a great potential in generating rural income and providing food security to the rurals in Indian uplands and its sustainable utilization and development have assumed importance in coldwater regions of the country. The ICAR-Directorate of Coldwater Fisheries Research, Bhimtal has been continuously providing empirical inputs through imparting quality research and services for sustainable coldwater fisheries production, management and conservation.
During the year 2017-18, ICAR-DCFR has undertaken comprehensive coldwater fisheries and promotion of hill aquaculture for enhancing farmer's income in particular and overall development of coldwater fisheries sector in the country through scientific innovations, technological improvements and farmer oriented approaches. Trailing our endeavours and commitments, Directorate has been working towards resource assessment and advancement in GIS based site suitability maps of Leh and Ladakh, generating GIS maps of ichthyofaunal distribution covering major drainages of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand along with eco-biological study of selected mountain lakes of central and north eastern Himalayan region. Advancements in hill aquaculture includes captive maturation and spawning of golden mahseer through photo-thermal manipulations, development of captive breeding and rearing protocols of Neolissochilus hexagonolepis, Barilius bendelisis, Naziritor chelynoides, Schistura spp., Bangana devdevi, Osteobrama belangeri under controlled conditions. Screening and identification of histology based appetite markers for devising feeding regimen in golden mahseer larvae; characterization of myogenic regulatory transcripts to understand muscle growth mechanism in slow growing Schizothorax richardsonii; evaluation of rainbow trout starter feed at phenotypic and molecular levels; development of two efficient and cost-effective single and multiple protein based rainbow trout starter feeds was the prime research achievements of this Directorate during this period. Standardization of composite carp culture with indigenous species L. dyocheilus and exotic carps for mid altitudes in polytanks and successful triploidy induction in rainbow trout has also been achieved. Under the national project on innovations in climate resilient agriculture (NICRA), attempts are being made to develop a multi-pronged strategy to counter the climate change related challenges faced by rainbow trout farmers. The issues and challenges of coldwater fish diseases are precisely being addressed by putting sincere efforts in disease surveillance of coldwater fish farms, identification of pathogens and development of management measures including screening of fungicidal effect of various anti-fungal drugs. The modern techniques of molecular biology and biotechnology are imperative to address the issues related to aquaculture and species development more precisely. The Directorate has made significant achievements in peptide synthesis using Fmoc-chemistry, In-silico identification and designing of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) from fish viral proteins, gene reporter assays using Mx promoter of rainbow trout and IRF3 promoter of snow trout for development of an engineered cell line for the detection of any viralsignal and optimization of protocol for synthesis of Polyhexamethylenebiguanide (PHMB) stabilized cationic silver nano particles (AgNPs).
To promote mahseer based eco-tourism and recreational fisheries in north-east India, North-East angling festival and workshop on "Connecting People, Fish and Nature" was organized by this directorate at Jasingfaa Aqua Tourism Resort, Nagaon, Assam. The Directorate also organized various other trainings, field demonstrations, farmer advisories and exhibitions to disseminate scientific knowledge on various aspects of coldwater fisheries and aquaculture to farmers, fisheries officers and other concerned stakeholders. Awareness-cum-ranching programmes were organized to revive the natural population of golden and chocolate mahseer. Under tribal sub-plan activity, rainbow trout farming is being promoted as a remunerative livelihood option by provision of infrastructure and inputs for adopted tribal farmers. Under NEH activity, one trout hatchery and three trout raceways were established at Dzuleke, Kohima for the first time. One unit each of chocolate mahseer hatcheries were established in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland respectively. Likewise, a portable carp hatchery and trout feed extruder were installed in Arunachal Pradesh. Under Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav national initiative, the Directorate provided advisories and consultations to farmers of 17 adopted villages for increasing their farm productivity and production. The Directorate also strengthened linkages with other ICAR research institutes, fisheries departments of hill states, agricultural universities, non-governmental organisations and central agencies such as National Fisheries Development Board and Department of Biotechnology for promoting research, extension and capacity building.
The continuous support, guidance and encouragements received from Dr. T. Mohapatra Secretary, DARE & Director General, ICAR has given courage and strength to achieve our goal benefiting the upland farmers residing in the high mountain areas. The supports, motivation and guidance received from the Deputy Director General (Fisheries), Dr. J.K. Jena and the Assistant Director General (Inland Fisheries), Dr. S. Raizada is recorded with sincere thanks and gratitude.
I sincerely thank and appreciate the contributions of all the scientists and staff members of the Directorate for the successful progress made during the year.
