Overview
- Union minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the pilot Sunday at North Bay near Port Blair, marking the country's first attempt at offshore cage aquaculture.
- Seabass and cobia are being reared in ocean cages alongside experimental seaweed cultivation using NIOT-developed systems.
- The project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the National Institute of Ocean Technology, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration.
- Officials said technology transfer for cage culture and seaweed projects is complete to enable rapid local adoption.
- Singh affirmed plans to develop the islands as India’s blue‑economy hub, announced a coral fish development project, and proposed a cluster linking MoES, the Department of Biotechnology, and CSIR.