Dr Grinson George has assumed charge of the Director of the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), part of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education at India’s Ministry of Agriculture. He replaces Dr A Gopalakrishnan, who retired at the end of July.
Previously heading the Marine Biodiversity and Environment Management Division at CMFRI, George has also held the position of Senior Programme Specialist at the SAARC in Dhaka. A seasoned fishery researcher with over two decades of experience, he holds expertise in areas such as fishery resource management, marine biodiversity, environment management, fisheries oceanography, remote sensing and climate change.
He has led multiple high impact research projects as principal investigator at national and international level with the funding support of various agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, ISRO, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology and ICAR- National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture project (NICRA), and India-UK Water Quality Initiatives.
George has served as a member of the Board of Studies at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and has guided PhD scholars in multiple universities, including CUSAT, KUFOS, Andhra University and Mangalore University.
CMFERI confirmed Gopalakrishnan’s retirement on 31 July. He had held the position for 11 years, during which he spearheaded numerous community-centric initiatives, with a particular focus on women empowerment, transgender mainstreaming, and start-up boosting in the marine fisheries sector.
During his tenure, CMFRI secured approximately Rs 150 crores in external funding from different agencies to support various research projects. He signed MoUs for research collaboration with 80 institutions, in addition to 45 consultancy projects. CMFRI also received over 140 national and international awards and was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Award in 2019, given to the best research institution under ICAR.
Gopalakrishnan’s tenure also saw the completion of landmark studies such as the marine fish stock status report (MFSS 2022), genome sequencing of Indian oil sardine, identification of new species, and the development of 14 nutraceuticals from seaweeds to mention a few. Additionally, his team developed seed production techniques for 13 marine food fishes and 18 marine ornamental species, identified optimal sites for seaweed and cage fish farming, established a national brood bank for boosting seed production, and conducted comprehensive carbon footprint assessments from India’s marine fisheries.
The institute, under his guidance, also played a crucial role in implementing Minimum Legal Size (MLS) regulations to curb juvenile fishing, publishing and creating public awareness on annual marine fish landing estimates, scientific and technical guidance for government policies, climate change and biodiversity studies, socio-economic assessments and more.
