Assessment of Marine Living Resources
The programme on Assessment of Marine Living Resources was initiated during 1997 and the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, Kochi is implementing the programme. It envisages evaluation of existing information on marine living resources, correlating it with the influence of physico-chemical parameters on the biota, identifying the gaps and formulating future strategies for sustainable exploitation of marine living resources in the EEZ. Fisheries and Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar Sampada is undertaking the studies in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone. The studies pertain to the assessment of environmental parameters, primary and secondary productivity, upwelling, investigation on toxic algal bloom, biomass estimation, distribution pattern of species at different depths in the EEZ carried out on seasonal basis. Studies on deep scattering layers, resources assessment and biology of deep-sea fishes in the continental slope and harvest technology and catch composition studies using different trawling techniques including the gear selectivity, and benthic productivity studies including the investigations on sediment texture were also envisaged. Besides, studies on bioluminescence of plankton, screening of antifouling compound, plankton biodiversity, black lip pearl oyster farming including near shore dynamic are being carried out under the programme through CMLRE, Kochi.