International seminar on ornamental fish at Kochi

An international seminar on ornamental fish breeding, farming and trade "" Ornamentals Kerala 2008 "" will be held here from February 2.

The seminar is organised as part of the 'India International Aquashow 2008' jointly organised by Department of Fisheries and Union Agriculture Ministry, slated here from February 1 to 5, said Prof B Madhusoodana Kurup of School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Kurup, who is also the chairman of the organising committee, said response for the seminar was "overwhelming", as scientists, academicians, farmers, traders, potential investors in the proposed Aqua Technology Park near here and NGOs have expressed desire to attend it.

A panel of experts from Europe and countries including the US, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia will speak on state-of-the-art breeding and rearing technologies.

Biotechnological applications for value addition, breeding technologies, innovations in aquarium keeping and global market trends would also come up for discussion.

The status of ornamental fish breeding, farming and trade in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka will be evaluated and bottlenecks in the development of ornamental fishery business in India will be identified.

A major highlight of the seminar will be the special interactive session on the Aqua Technology Park, he said.

In the buyer-seller meet, prominent ornamental fish importers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the US besides Europe will have an interaction with the farmers and various stake holders, Kurup said.