Dr. George Ninan, Director, ICAR-CIFT handing over the aluminium canoe to the beneficiaries from
Pazhassi Scheduled Tribe Reservoir Co-operative Society, Kannur, Kerala

Artisanal fisheries plays an important source of livelihood in India. ICAR-CIFT has been catering the needs of small scale and artisanal fisheries sectors through various technological interventions. Development of an Aluminium Alloy canoe for inland artisanal fishing is such an intervention. Aluminium as a long lasting boat building material is tried here as it can be recycled, light in weight, having low corrosion rate and least maintenance. Aluminium canoe having a length of  4.5 m and made of Aluminium- Magnesium alloy 5083 was constructed under Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). The canoe was officially handed over for field trails to ST fishers from Pazhassi Scheduled Tribe Reservoir Co-operative Society, Kannur, Kerala by Dr. George Ninan, Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, on 12^th December 2022 at a function held at Samudra Shipyard (P) Ltd, Aroor, Alappuzha, Kerala. Dr. M.V. Baiju, Senior Scientist, Fishing Technology Division welcomed the gatherings and explained the technical details of the canoe. Dr. George Ninan, Director, ICAR-CIFT in his presidential address spoke about the various interventions of the institute for the artisanal fishers in the country. Dr. M. P. Remesan, Head (Acting), Fishing Technology Division mentioned about the relevance of handing over the canoe during the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries & Aquaculture (IYAFA, 2022). Dr. Jeevan, CEO, Samudra Shipyard detailed about Aluminium canoe construction. Mr. Gangadharan E. K., President of the Pazhassi Scheduled Tribe Reservoir Co-operative Society, Kannur offered the felicitation. Dr. Sandhya K. M., Senior Scientist, Fishing technology Division proposed the vote of thanks.