TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR SELF HELP GROUPS ON BEST HUSBANDRY PRACTICES FOR ASIAN SEABASS AQUACULTURE ORGANIZED BY RGCA AT ITS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, TRAINING & ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLEX, AT KARAIMEDU, SIRKALI, NAGAPATTINAM DISTRICT.

The Inaugural Training programme from the newly completed Technology Transfer, Training and Administrative Complex of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture at Sirkali was held between the 9^th and 13^th June 2010. This Training Programme on Best husbandry Practices for Asian Seabass culture was organized for candidates of “Seabass Fish farming SHG’s Federation” Killai and Parangipettai panchayats in Cuddalore district, sponsored by NGO’s viz; M/s. POETS and M/s. Care India
 

At the offset, Shri. Y.C.Thampi Sam Raj, Project Director, RGCA welcomed the District Collector and dignitaries in the dais & the farmers and briefed them on the initiatives taken by RGCA in technology development and dissemination in the field of Aquaculture  and the goals the organization has set for the future.

The Training programme was inaugurated by the district Collector, Shri. Munianathan, IAS, who in his address, appreciated the efforts taken by RGCA towards popularising Seabass farming in the area. The Collector remarked that RGCA had done a commendable job in bringing out a Seabass Farming handout in Tamil and organizing the training programme also in the local language for the socially and economically weaker sections of the society
 

Shri. M. Subburaj, Joint Director of Fisheries, Nagapattinam, Shri. Sampath Kumar, Deputy Director Regional Centre MPEDA Thanjavur, Dr. Kandan, Asst. Director, Regional Centre MPEDA, Thanjavur Shri. Swaminathan, Executive Director of POETS and Shri. Mosses District Co-ordinator of M/s Care India also addressed the gathering.

The training programme was attended by 20 participants including 11 women who were actively involved in aquaculture activities in their respective villages.  All the theory classes as a part of the Training programme were conducted extensively at the TTTAC building and the practical field training was organized at the demo farm of RGCA at karukkalacherry in Karaikal, UT of Pondicherry

The trainees were imparted complete hands on training on all aspects of Seabass aquaculture work.  They were given extensive practical classes on cage construction, fabrication net, net mending, installing of cages in grow out pond, monitoring of water Para meters, feed, feed calculation, feed management,  grading of fingerlings, grow out fishes, segregation and restocking in new cages, fish diseases identification  and management and harvest technology etc

On final day of the training, the candidates were given a short test to check knowledge gained by them during the training. At a brief valedictory function organized in the evening of 13^th June 2010 at the Technology Transfer Training and Administrative Complex, Shri. V. Venkatesan, Member, Scientific Advisory Committee of RGCA addressed the trainees and  distributed the certificates