Bachelor of Fisheries Science

The Bachelor of Fisheries Science (B.F.Sc) is a bachelor's degree for studies in fisheries science in India. "Fisheries science" is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of aquaculture including breeding, genetics, biotechnology, nutrition, farming, diagnosis of diseases in fishes, other aquatic resources, medical treatment of aquatic animals; fish processing including curing, canning, freezing, value addition, byproducts and waste utilization, quality assurance and certification, fisheries microbiology, fisheries biochemistry; fisheries resource management including biology, anatomy, taxonomy, physiology, population dynamics; fisheries environment including oceanography, limnology, ecology, biodiversity, aquatic pollution; fishing technology including gear and craft engineering, navigation and seamanship, marine engines; fisheries economics and management and fisheries extension. Fisheries science is generally a 4-year course typically taught in a university setting, and can be the focus of an undergraduate, postgraduate or Ph.D. program. Bachelor level fisheries courses (B.F.Sc) were started by the state agricultural universities to make available the much needed technically competent personnel for teaching, research and development and transfer of technology in the field of fisheries science.

Fisheries education in India, started with the establishment of the Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai in 1961 for in service training and later the establishment of the first Fisheries College at Mangalore under the State Agricultural University (SAU) system in 1969, has grown manifold and evolved in the last four decades as a professional discipline consisting of Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral programmes in various branches of Fisheries Science. At present, 21 Fisheries Colleges offer four-year degree programme in Bachelor of Fisheries Science (B.F.Sc), while 10 of them offer Master of Fisheries Science (M.F.Sc) in various disciplines and 6 offer Doctoral programmes. The undergraduate curricula and syllabi were periodically revised by ICAR for a common syllabus. All the Fisheries Colleges are in the process of adapting these, bringing in parity of standards between Colleges.

The eligibility for most of these courses is the study of science till class 12 in school. As the degree in Fisheries Science is a science degree, one needs to have studied science with biology till class 12. Selection process is either through state level entrance examination or via all India level ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) examination. After completion of B.F.Sc candidates can go for M.F.Sc and PhD.

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