KOCHI, 17 July 2025: The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has won national recognition, with its seed production technology for Giant trevally (Vatta), a high-value marine fish, being selected among the country’s top five innovations in fisheries by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
This is in recognition of this technology’s crucial role in sustainable mariculture of the country.
The innovative technology was officially unveiled by the Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhanduring 97th Foundation Day celebrations of ICAR in New Delhi.
“The technology is poised to significantly boost the production of this commercially important fish, contributing to the nation's seafood security and blue economy”, said CMFRI Director Dr Grinson George.
Giant trevally is highly valued for its rapid growth rate and adaptability, making it an ideal candidate for mariculture. It can be successfully farmed in various marine and estuarine environments, including cages, pens, and coastal ponds.
This species exhibits faster growth than pompanos and can tolerate a wider range of salinity and water quality conditions, offering greater flexibility for farmers. This is a much sought-after popular marine fish and its price ranges from INR 400 to INR 700 per kg.
CMFRI's efforts to developing this technology involved overcoming considerable challenges. Giant trevally's natural preference for open waters and complex reproductive biology presented significant hurdles for researchers. The successful development of this groundbreaking technology was led by scientists Ambarish P. Gop, Dr. M. Sakthivel, and Dr. B. Santhosh at CMFRI's Vizhinjam Regional Centre.
As per CMFRI’s standardised protocol, with the use of pellet feeds this fish reaches marketable size up to 500g in 5 months and around 1kg in 8-month farming.
Belonging to the Carangidae family, this fish is well known for its large size and has immense potential in the mariculture sector. CMFRI now focuses on optimizing the breeding protocols to scale up the production efficiency and refine the larval rearing protocols of this species.
Giant trevally is a fast-growing, hardy species that can be easily farmed using pellet diets throughout the culture period. The initial success of the giant trevally's captive seed production is expected to pave the way for large-scale fish seed production and farming of this marine fish.
