First basic mariculture training of the year successfully concluded

The first basic mariculture course of the year, conducted under the "Marine Hatchery Skills Development Programme", has been successfully concluded.

Ten participants from various atolls across the Maldives were trained in this programme, which was held for a duration of two weeks starting from January 24 at the Research and Training Facility in K. Maniyafushi.

The "Marine Hatchery Skills Development Programme" is a training programme initiated as part of the activities included in the Week 14 roadmap of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's administration. It aims to teach youth the skills of aquaculture and how to establish hatcheries needed for breeding reef fish. To date, 64 participants have completed training in the basic mariculture course under this programme.

Conducted jointly by the Maldives Marine Research Institute and the Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources with the assistance of the World Bank's Transforming Fisheries Sector Management in South-West Indian Ocean Region and Maldives Project (TRANSFORM), this programme will build the Maldivian technicians needed to introduce and develop a mariculture industry in the Maldives. In this regard, participants are provided with information on aquaculture systems, live feed production, breeding of grouper, sea cucumber, Maldivian clownfish, and pearl oysters, as well as identifying and preventing diseases in bred species, and conducting mariculture activities in an environmentally friendly manner. Additionally, participants are provided with practical experience in breeding grouper, sea cucumber, and clownfish.