3.5 lakh larvae sea ranched in Tuticorin

A total of 3.5 lakh larvae of `Panulirus homarus,' a spiny lobster species, was sea ranched into the Gulf of Mannar by Fisheries College and Research Institute in Tuticorin on Friday.

The ranching was carried out by the institute as part of a Union Ministry of Environment and Forests-funded project titled `Conservation of lobsters in the Gulf of Mannar region.'

The lobsters were reared at the institute's marine biological laboratory by C.B.T. Rajagopalasamy and B. Srikrishnadhas, both from the Department of Fisheries Biology and Capture Fisheries, FCRI.

"A female lobster weighing 500 gm and a male lobster weighing 600 gm were bred in a fibre-reinforced plastic tank of 1,000 litre capacity and the larvae produced were grown to a length of 2 mm., before it was sea ranched," V.K. Venkataramani, FCRI Dean said.

Sea ranching of lobsters would enhance its population in the region, which was fast diminishing since 2002.

He told the fishermen to put back egg-bearing lobsters, caught in the nets, into sea to augment its production. "Every stakeholder should make efforts to prevent the destruction of coral beds in the Gulf of Mannar, which too caused the depletion of lobsters," he added.

Source: The Hindu