CIFRI Awards
ICAR-CIFRI, Kochi organized a hands-on training programme on ‘Estimation of Ecological Parameters in Inland Open Water Bodies’ during 02-06 September 2024. The training aimed to equip the participants with the essential skills for effective ecosystem health assessment and management. A total of 26 trainees (20 females and 6 males) took part in the training. The participants included 2 faculties from RARS, Kumarakom and University of Kerala and 24 students from Fisheries College & Research Institute, Thoothukudi (1), College of Fisheries, Mangalore (1), KUFOS (1), Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam (1), College of Fisheries, Dholi (2), MES Ponnani College (8), and St. Albert’s College, Kochi (10). The inaugural function was graced by the presence of Dr. Grinson George, Director, ICAR-CMFRI, Kochi, as the Chief Guest. Dr. B. K. Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore, gave the presidential address and Dr. Preetha Panikkar, Head of Regional Centre, ICAR-CIFRI, Bangalore addressed the participants. .
Dr. Shelton Padua, Senior Scientist, ICAR-CMFRI, delivered a lecture on the importance of GIS in ecosystem monitoring using the software QGIS and Google Earth. Dr. Ratheesh Kumar, Scientist, ICAR-CMFRI, lectured on biodiversity assessment and PRIMER software. The Scientists of Bangalore Centre and Kochi unit of ICAR-CIFRI dealt with the topics on the estimation of water quality parameters, water quality index, sediment analysis, plankton analysis, fish identification using morphology, hard parts and molecular markers, fish-based and microbial-based indices of biotic integrity, trophic modeling, ECOPATH software and ecosystem health card. The participants were fortunate to have an interaction with Dr. U. K. Sarkar, Director, ICAR-NBFGR, Lucknow, during the training. In the feedback session, the participants conveyed their appreciation for the training and its applicability, praising the practical sessions and field sampling in particular.
