Brief historical background
Brackishwater aquaculture has been identified as one of the high potential areas for increasing prawn / fish production and for deriving maximum economic and social benefits such as better utilization of unproductive and marginally productive coastal lands, swamps and brackishwater bodies, augmenting production for export and foreign exchange earnings, support to food security system, establishment of ancillary industries, generation of employment, and improving the socio economic conditions of rural poor . As all these activities require adequate and continuous R & D support, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research sanctioned the establishment of the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture during the VII plan period (1985-90) with effect from 1.4.1985, by reorganisation of the then existing Fisheries Research Institute of the Council. The Institute started functioning independently since April,1987. The headquarters of the Institute is located in Madras city with field and farm facilities at Muttukadu about 30 km south of Madras. The institute has three Research Centres at Kakdwip(West Bengal), Puri (Orissa) and Narakkal(Kerala).

Mandate:
To conduct research leading to development of techno economically viable and sustainable culture systems for finfish and shellfish in brackishwater

To carry out research, more specifically on nutrition and feed development, reproductive physiology, pathology, genetics, pond environment, aquaculture engineering and operational economics to provide technology support for optimising productivity and production and

To undertake transfer of technology through training, education and extension programmes and to provide institutional consultancy services.

Organisation:
The research programmes for the institute are carried out under the following divisions
Crustacean Culture Division
Fish Culture Division
Technology Improvement Division
Aquaculture Environment and Engineering Division
Economics, Extension and Information Division

Major Research Accomplishments:
The Institute has made good progress in the research programmes in spite of the constraints of inadequate infrastructure facilities. The institute made significant progress in developing a mature broodstock of Lates calcarifer in captivity. Technique of implantation of LHRHa in pellet form in fish was developed;LHRHa, in conjunction with HCG, was responsible for achieving maturation.

Induction of maturity and spawning in ablated females of Penaeus monodon was successfully accomplished by changing 90% of seawater per day and using fresh flesh of squid and clam @15% of the total biomass given twice a day, with a supplemental diet of polychaete worms.

Higher biomass production of Artemia was obtained in a laboratory experiment with the indigenous strain from a saltpan near Madras(250g/tonne of water) when compared to San Francisco Bay Strain(210g/tonne of water)

In the experiments on cryopreservation of milt of mullet, it was found that 5% DMSO as cryoprotectant with Fish Ringer as extender could be used, as revealed by the good sperm mobility of Liza macrolepis.

Thoraic ganglion implantation technique in P.monodon was standardised in laboratory conditions with the possibility of stimulating gonad maturation.

The causative agent for vibriosis in P.monodon was identified as a gram negative bacterium Vibrio alginolyticus and methlene blue was found to be effectibe in its treatment. Vibrio harveyi was identified as the causative agent of the luminescent bacterial disease in P.monodon larvae. The black gill disease in P.monodon was found to be due to poor water quality following heavy rains coupled with a sudden drop in salinity from 15ppt to 5-7ppt.