Full Text
REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99
The Gazette of India
CG-DL-E-28072025-265032
EXTRAORDINARY
PART II-Section 3-Sub-section (ii)
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
NEW DELHI, FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2025/SHRAVANA 3, 1947
No. 3385]
MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING
(Department of Fisheries)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 24th July, 2025
S.O. 3462(E).—In pursuance of the provisions of section 3 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005
(24 of 2005), read with clause (m) of rule 3 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Rules, 2024 (hereinafter referred to
as the said rules), the Central Government hereby makes the following guidelines for regulating cage and pen culture of
marine or brackish water aquaculture species which includes, finfish, shellfish, seaweed and any other organisms
approved by the Central Government, namely:
1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These guidelines may be called the Guidelines for Regulating Cage and
Pen Culture of Marine or Brackish water Aquaculture Species, 2025.
(2) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Criteria for application for undertaking cage or pen culture of marine or brackish water aquaculture
species.- (1) Individual or self-help groups or joint liability groups or fish farmer producer organisations or
societies or farmers or entrepreneurs or technocrats, etc., shall submit an application in accordance with the
procedure laid down in rule 9 of the said rules.
(2) A detailed project report indicating the infrastructure, production capacity, technology support, employment
generation, economics of operation, etc., shall be submitted along with the application.
(3) The inspection team authorised by the Authority shall inspect the unit as per the procedure laid down in rule
10 of the said rules and based on its recommendation regarding the suitability of the site and unit for farming of
marine or brackish water finfish or shellfish or seaweed, etc., applications shall be processed by the Secretary of
the Authority, for consideration of the Authority for registering the cage or pen culture units.
3. Site selection.- (1) A feasibility study shall be carried out using marine geospatial analysis, incorporating major
physico-chemical, social, and biological parameters to ascertain species-specific requirements of the site and to
assess potential sites based on ecological suitability, water quality, accessibility, and infrastructure availability for
various types of mariculture practices.
(2) The site selected for cage culture shall be a sandy or silty bottom with good water clarity or transparency with
the following parameters, namely:-
(a) the suitable substrata for pen culture with good primary production is preferable based on the species
cultured;
(b) a beach landing or jetty facility shall be available within close vicinity of the proposed cage culture site
for day-to-day feeding and maintenance management work;
(c) a good road transport facility shall be available for transporting the fish yield to the market;
(d) enclosed or semi-enclosed bays are highly preferred zones however open sea areas may also be selected
for cage culture;
(e) areas with moderate wave action and free from silt deposits with good water quality are preferable;
(f) accessibility or availability of farm inputs, transportation, marketing, watch and ward;
(g) areas shall be away from freshwater runoff and domestic or agro-industrial effluent discharge;
(h) potential sites identified by the research organisations or fisheries department or other government
agencies shall be considered;
(i) the farming area in every site shall be demarcated by arriving at local or regional or stakeholder consensus
considering the alternative use of marine space;
(j) open sea cage culture locations shall be earmarked with geographical boundaries with geo-location
tagging;
(k) cage or pen culture of marine and brackish water fishes shall be taken up in suitable locations in estuaries,
backwaters, lagoons and coastal waters which shall be identified by the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research or Ministry of Earth Sciences- National Institute of Ocean Technology or Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research or other Central Government Institutes based on the oceanographic and carrying
capacity studies;
(1) the Central Government or the State Government or any organisations or local bodies authorised by the
Government shall allocate the suitable sites to the individual or self help groups or joint liability groups
or fish farmer producer organisations or societies or farmers or entrepreneurs or technocrats, etc., with
specific geo-coordinates or geo-fencing to enable the authority to consider such allotted sites for
registration for cage or pen culture units;
(m) to minimize conflicts of interest along the coastline, cage or pen culture shall be taken up in sites away
from existing commercial shipping and navigational lanes, areas designated for fishing, ports and
harbours, waste water discharge points, restricted defence sensitive areas, wave or tidal energy projects,
pipelines, recreational activities, ecologically sensitive areas, etc.;
(n) optimum range of water quality parameters suitable for cage or pen culture shall be as specified in the
Table below, namely:-
Table
+--------------+-------------------+---------------+
| Serial number| Parameters | Optimum range |
+--------------+-------------------+---------------+
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
+--------------+-------------------+---------------+
| 1. | pH | 7.5-8.5 |
| 2. | DO (mg/L) | 5-7 |
| 3. | Salinity (ppt) | 15-35 |
| 4. | Water temperature (°C)| 25-31 |
| 5. | NO2 (mg/L) | < 0.2 |
| 6. | Ammonia | < 0.1 |
+--------------+-------------------+---------------+
(o) environmental criteria optimum range for cage or pen culture sites shall be as specified in the table below,
namely:-
Table
+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+
| Serial number| Parameters | Optimum range |
+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+
| (1) | (2) | (3) |
+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+
| 1. | Wind speed (m/s) | 1-5 |
| 2. | Water depth (m) in low tide| >5 meters (for cage farming)|
| 3. | Water depth (m) in low tide| >1 meter (for pen farming)|
| 4. | Water current (m/s) | 0.30 – 1.0 |
+--------------+-------------------------+---------------+
4. Spacing between cage clusters.- (1) The distance between one open sea cage culture cluster and another open sea
cage culture cluster shall be minimum five hundred meters.
(2) The open sea cage culture system shall not obstruct regular navigation between and within the system.
5. Cage structure and installation.- (1) Cage size and design shall be as square or rectangular or circular to suit the
species cultured and location.
(2) Cages shall be designed with hand rail and buoyant collars to support the net and worker's safety.
(3) Cage frames shall be made of wood or galvanised iron pipes or high-density polyethene material, depending
on the location and investment plan and high-density polyethene material may be used to fabricate cage frames to
have long durability, floatability, and sturdiness.
(4) Cage frames shall be supported with appropriate floats made of plastic drums or fibre reinforced plastic barrels
to provide sufficient floatation.
(5) Cages shall be moored with site-specific anchoring materials technically vetted by the institutes under the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research or Ministry of Earth Sciences- National Institute of Ocean Technology
or Council of Scientific and Industrial Research or other Central Government Institutes based on the bathymetric
studies.
(6) Cages shall be moored individually or in a grid mooring system in the locations approved by the Central
Government or the State Government or local bodies.
(7) Submersible cages may be promoted in consultation with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research or
Ministry of Earth Sciences- National Institute of Ocean Technology or Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research or other Central Government Institutes for the technical suitability, sturdiness and operational
convenience and without hindering the existing activities of the selected location.
(8) Wherever possible, cage culture units shall be integrated with seaweed rafts and oyster or mussel culture rafts
under integrated multi trophic aquaculture for environmental mitigation and additional production of extractive
organisms.
(9) Pen culture units shall be established with appropriate size of net mesh to avoid escape of cultured fish and to
prevent the entry of predators.
(10) Pen culture units should be installed with adequate support materials to withstand the adverse agro climatic
conditions.
6. Technical Guidelines for cage or pen culture operations.- (1) Native or non-invasive species suitable for cage
or pen culture shall be considered duly prioritising the species having market demand, resilient to local conditions
and have low environmental impact.
(2) Only healthy and pathogen-free seeds from registered farms or nurseries shall be used for stocking.
(3) For better survival, seed length of 3-4 inches shall be selected for the open sea cage culture program.
(4) Grow out culture protocols including stocking density, feed management, disease prevention, and waste
management shall be adopted.
(5) Cage or pen culture units shall be supported with units for captive nursery rearing in land-based tanks or in
happas or nursery cages installed in coastal waters near to the cage farming site to rear the fish fry to stockable
size fingerlings.
(6) Fish seeds brought from the approved hatchery have to be acclimatized in tanks or pens or nursery cages for
a shorter period to observe their health condition. If abnormal behaviour or infection symptoms are noticed, such
seeds have to be isolated and reared separately.
(7) Before stocking of the seed into the cage or pen culture units, it shall be acclimatised to the cultivating
environment.
(8) To avoid the spread of diseases, seeds infected with pathogens shall be safely discarded or stocked temporarily
in small cages or pens after appropriate treatment in consultation with the institutes under the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research or Ministry of Earth Sciences- National Institute of Ocean Technology or Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research or other Central Government Institutes.
(9) Adoption of sustainable practices such as integrated multi-trophic aquaculture or any other environmental
friendly approaches shall be encouraged.
(10) Regular monitoring of water quality, biodiversity impacts, and disease outbreaks shall be done.
(11) Over stocking of seeds shall be avoided and growth rate on a fortnightly or monthly basis to be monitored
to finalise the good quality and right quantity of feed.
7. Feed management.- (1) Optimal feed shall be used so as to improve the farming environment and ensure
healthy fish stock (use of extruded formulated pellet feed instead of low value fish will reduce organic matters
in water).
(2) Feed quantity has to be reduced when the fishes are under stress or during rough weather or during low water
temperature.
(3) The nutritional requirements vary with different fish species, sizes, growth stages and feeding habits and
accordingly feeds shall be used.
8. Net exchange and use of aquaculture inputs.- (1) To ensure free flow of water, the cage or pen nets shall be
cleaned periodically and inner and outer nets of the cages shall be exchanged with higher mesh size for free
flow of water and according to the size of the fish.
(2) Spare cages shall be maintained to thin down the stocked fish and to accelerate the growth rate and to provide
more space for movement of the fishes.
(3) To prevent biofouling of algal growth and barnacles on cage nets and cage frames, it shall be cleaned
manually or with appropriate equipment at regular intervals.
(4) Antifouling paints and chemicals shall be avoided.
(5) Regular inspection of mooring, net and raft components shall be done.
(6) Feed supplements or inputs or additives approved by the Authority shall be used as recommended by the
fisheries officials or scientists or technical staff.
9. Prevention and treatment of fish diseases.- (1) Fish shall be observed regularly to identify altered swimming
behaviour, diseases causes and appropriate treatments.
(2) Stocking density as recommended by Indian Council of Agricultural Research or Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research or Government institutions and nutritious feed shall be maintained to boost resistance in the
fish and to control fish diseases.
(3) In case of any disease outbreak, remedial measures as recommended by ICAR/CSIR/Government
institutions shall be adopted to prevent the spread to other cage or pen culture units.
(4) Prohibited pharmacologically active substances and antimicrobial agents as prescribed under clause (c) of
sub-rule (1) of rule 18 of the said rules shall not be used in the units.
10. Harvesting.- (1) Harvesting of fish shall be done partially or fully from the cage or pen culture units depending
on the market demand and requirement by the vendors and icing shall be done immediately after the harvest to
prevent the spoilage.
(2) In case of harvest for live fish marketing, care should be taken to harvest fish from the cages or pens without
any injury and transport them with proper aeration and water quality arrangements.
(3) The fish grown in the cage shall be harvested by lifting of net and taking the fish with scoop nets.
(4) The grown-out fish shall be harvested in the early hour's day and stored in cold brine immediately after
harvest.
(5) Total harvest can be planned based on the market demand and secured order.
(6) Periodical and partial harvesting may also be planned based on market demand.
(7) The harvested fish may be stored in a cold storage facility (-20°C) for a short period of up to two months to
have a better market rate.
11. Maintenance of farm management records.- (1) Cage or pen culture farmers shall maintain records on
procurement of seed, stocking density, water quality parameters, feeding quantities, health management,
growth parameters, inputs used, harvesting and marketing details etc.
(2) The farmer shall produce the farm records on demand by the authorised personnel or officials.
12. Penalty for violation.- If any unauthorised practice is noticed during the inspection of the units by the
inspection team of the Authority, the inspection team may confiscate, dispose of or destroy the stock, including
imposing penalties as prescribed under section 14 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005.
[F. No. j-1903336/2/2024-DOF (E-23648)]
NEETU KUMARI PRASAD, Jt. Secy.
Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064
and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.
AMIT KUMAR
JAISWAL
Digitally signed by AMIT KUMAR
JAISWAL
Date: 2025.07.28 16:12:43 +05'30'