Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology is an autonomous organization established by the government of India, engaged in research related to fishing and fish processing in the country. The institute has its headquarters in Matsyapuri, Willingdon Island, Kochi and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers' Welfare.
The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology was formed in 1954 and started functioning in 1957 from its headquarters in Kochi. It is considered to be the only institute where research facilities are available in all disciplines related to fishing and fish processing. CIFT is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 NABL accredited and ISO 9001:2015 certified body.
CIFT has been selected as the seat for the establishment of the south zone Zonal Technology Management – Business Planning and Development Unit for catering to the individual and collective needs of 22 agricultural institutes of ICAR in south India.

WWW cift.res.in FB icarcift.cochin

Mandate

Basic and strategic research in fishing and processing, bioactive compounds & food safety
Design and develop energy efficient fishing systems for responsible fishing and sustainable management
Development of implements and machinery for fishing and fish processing
Human resource development through training, education and extension

Objectives

Basic and strategic research in fishing and processing.
Design and develop energy efficient fishing systems for responsible fishing and sustainable management
Development of implements and machinery for fishing and fish processing.
Human resource Development through training, education and extension.

Divisions

The institute has six divisions and one section that coordinates its activities across various disciplines.

Fishing Technology Division.
Fish Processing Division.
Biochemistry & Nutrition Division.
Quality Assurance & Management Division.
Extension, Information & Statistics Division.
Microbiology, Fermentation and Biotechnology Division.
Engineering Section.

Research centers

CIFT has three research centers in India.

CIFT Visakhapatanam RC, Pandurangapuram, Visakhapatanam, Andhra Pradesh
CIFT Veraval RC, Veraval, Gujarat
CIFT Mumbai RC, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra

National important facilities of CIFT

Agribusiness Incubator

The Agribusiness Incubator is a service program of ZTM-BPD Unit at CIFT, aimed at providing entrepreneurs and start-ups with new technologies. The program offer shared office services, access to equipment, prototype development support, research assistance and expandable space to entrepreneurs during the initial stages to render their businesses financially viable, self-sustaining and profit making.

Fish behaviour lab

As part of the move to promote responsible fishing, a new lab first of its kind in the country to study fish behaviour was inaugurated on May 25, 2019 at ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin.