Fisheries Week Celebration

in association with

World Fisheries Day, 2021

Moderator

Prof. (Dr.) B. Madhusoodana Kurup

Founding Vice Chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS)

Prof. B. Madhusoodana Kurup is an eminent fishery scientist, who was the founding Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, prior to which he served as Professor and then Director of the School of Industrial Fisheries of Cochin University of Science & Technology. He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Shri Venkateshwara University, Gajraula. He is a leading academician in the field of fisheries and has made seminal contributions in the field of aquatic biodiversity, assessment and conservation, fisheries, and aquaculture. Owing to his wide-ranging expertise in the field of fisheries Dr. Kurup has served as Advisor to the Minister of Fisheries, Govt. of Kerala (2006–2011), and is presently the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture, the MPEDA-Ministry of Commerce, Govt. of India, and the ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, aside from serving as a subject expert for the ICAR-Agricultural Services Recruitment Board.

Panelist

Dr. K. K. Vijayan

Former Director, ICAR- Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture

Dr K. K. Vijayan is a renowned fisheries scientist with expertise in the fields of coastal aquaculture and aquaculture biotechnology. He was the Director of the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, Chennai. He has also served as Head of the Marine biotechnology Division at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi for eight years. His research expertise includes pathobiology and physiology of cultured fishes and shellfish, molecular pathology, and marine bioprospecting. His work on white spot viral disease, development of molecular-based diagnostics, and commercialization of an ‘indigenously developed netted-PCR kit’ are widely acclaimed. He also led the development and commercialization of nutraceuticals from farmed mussels and seaweeds, to combat inflammatory pain and arthritis. He has won numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious National Award for the best commercial biotech product from the Department of Biotechnology (Govt. of India) in 2003. During 2016–17, he served as the Member Secretary, Coastal Aquaculture Authority, Govt of India, and he continues to use his considerable expertise and experience into realising the vision of sustainable growth in the Indian aquaculture and fisheries sectors.

Panelist

Dr. K. Sunil Mohamed

Former Principal Scientist & Head, Molluscan Fisheries Division, ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute

Dr. K. Sunil Mohamed is a fishery scientist with expertise in ecological modeling and its application to fisheries -management as well as in molluscan fisheries and mariculture. He served at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi for over three decades, retiring as a Principal Scientist and Head of the Molluscan Fisheries Division. He has made significant contributions towards understanding the biology and population dynamics of Indian cephalopods, as well as in the growth of commercial bivalve mariculture in the country. He was awarded the prestigious T. V. R. Pillay Aquaculture Award 2011 for outstanding aquaculture research and extension. He has served as a member of the Technical Advisory Board of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) London, a global non-profit fostering certification and ecolabelling of sustainable seafood. His expertise has led to his appointment in several national expert committees on marine fisheries management.

Panelist

Dr. John Kurien

Visiting Professor, Azim Premji University, Bangalore, and Honorary Fellow at WorldFish Centre, Penang, Malaysia.

Dr. John Kurien is an activist and researcher from Kerala, whose interests include natural resources management, collective action and rural organizations, issues in common property resource management, and development issues with special reference to aquatic ecosystems and fishing communities. Having an academic background in statistics and business management, he holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences and was a Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum. He has organised small-scale fishing community cooperatives in India and worked with fishers in many other countries, such as Cambodia and Myanmar. He is the founder of the International Collective in Support of Fish workers and played a role in organizing the first International Conference of Fish workers and their Supporters in Rome in 1984, parallel to the UN/FAO World Conference on Fisheries. He has served as Vice-Chairperson of the UN/FAO Advisory Committee on Fisheries Research (1997–2006). He is currently a Visiting Professor at the Azim Premji University, Bangalore and is also an Honorary Fellow at WorldFish Centre, Penang, Malaysia.

Panelist

Dr. Shyam S. Salim

Principal Scientist, ICAR- Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute

Dr. Shyam S. Salim, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi has over 20 years of research experience in marine fisheries economics, domestic marketing and international trade, socio-economics and livelihoods, and impacts of climate change on fisheries and fishers. He holds an M.Sc. (1998) and Ph.D. (2003) in Agricultural Economics. He has developed important collaborations and networks in support of national fisheries management and fisher’s welfare and has made a substantial effort in empowering women and stakeholders in the fisheries sector. He developed the Indian Fish Market Grid for improving marketing efficiency, as well as methodologies to assess the vulnerability of coastal households consequent to climate change. At present, his work includes value chain interventions, assessing fish consumption, developing climate-resilient adaptation and mitigation plans, economic efficiency assessment, and deducing demand and supply relationships. He has garnered national and international recognition for his work and was awarded the Hiralal Chaudhuri award for best teacher in Central Institute of Fisheries Education (2008).

Panelist

Mr. Surendran P.

Former Deputy General Manager, Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fisheries Development Ltd (Matsyafed)

Mr Surendran.P, after taking his MSc inIndustrial fisheries, from CUSAT joined Matsyafed as Executive in 1986. He served in Matsyafed Ice and Freezing plant, Cochin, and Net Complex, W.Island. In 1989, he organized the direct import of 'OutBoard Motor Engines' from Japan. During his leadership Implemented a japanese grant in aid project and organized beach level auction in Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode for the first time in Kerala, under a govt fisheries agency. His period, Matsysfed established new net factories and enhanced the turnover, and entered retail marketing, through the fish marts in different parts of Kerala. Mr Surendran was responsible for marketing of fishing inputs, viz. fish, vyasa store, workshops, chitosan plant etc. Also new ventures in the sector have been set up, some are fish meal plant, twisting plant at Alleppey and a boat building yard at Kollam. Mr Surendran Retired from service in 2021 and is now working as a Technical expert in fish postharvest and marketing.