ICAR - Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) is an autonomous organization established by the Government of India to conduct research related to fishing and fish processing. Formed in 1954 and operational since 1957, it is headquartered in Matsyapuri, Willingdon Island, Kochi, and functions as a subsidiary of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. CIFT is the only institute in India offering research facilities across all disciplines of fishing and fish processing, and it holds ISO/IEC 17025:2005 NABL accreditation and ISO 9001:2015 certification. It has been designated as the seat for the south zone Zonal Technology Management – Business Planning and Development (ZTM-BPD) Unit, serving 22 agricultural institutes of ICAR in south India. The institute's mandate includes basic and strategic research in fishing and processing, development of energy-efficient fishing systems, creation of fishing and processing implements and machinery, and human resource development through training, education, and extension. CIFT comprises six divisions—Fishing Technology, Fish Processing, Biochemistry & Nutrition, Quality Assurance & Management, Extension Information & Statistics, and Microbiology, Fermentation and Biotechnology—along with an Engineering Section. It also operates three research centers in Visakhapatnam, Veraval, and Navi Mumbai, and hosts facilities such as an Agribusiness Incubator, a National Reference Laboratory for Fish and Fish Products recognized by FSSAI, and India's first Fish Behaviour Lab, inaugurated in 2019.