Tripura, 21 Oct 2025: Prof. Arun Bhai Patel has taken charge as the new Dean of the College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Lembucherra, Tripura. Prof. Patel, an accomplished academic and researcher in the field of Aquaculture, brings with him over three decades of extensive experience in fisheries and aquaculture research, academic and administration including 15 years of experience in abroad in multiple universities and institutes of high repute.
Prof. Patel completed his Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries Science (1990) from Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (erstwhile Rajendra Agricultural University), Pusa, Bihar, where he was a Merit Scholar and subsequently served as Technical Supervisor at the same university from January to December 1991. He obtained his M.Sc. in Aquaculture (1993) from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand with a Full Merit Scholarship from the Government of UK, where he also worked as a Research Associate (1993–1995). He further pursued a second M.Sc. in Aquatic Bioscience (1998) from Kochi University, Japan, under the prestigious MEXT Scholarship of the Government of Japan, followed by a Ph.D. (2001) from the United Graduate School of Agriculture Sciences (UGAS), Japan, supported by the MEXT Scholarship. After earning his doctorate, Prof. Patel served as a Researcher at the Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) (2001–2002) and completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2004) at the National Research Institute of Aquaculture under the prestigious Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) scholarship.
From 2004 to 2007, he was associated with the Core Research Laboratory of MIE Industry and Enterprise Support Centre (MIESC), Japan, as a Research Scientist. In 2007, Prof. Patel joined the College of Fisheries, Lembucherra under Central Agricultural University (Imphal) as Associate Professor in the Department of Aquaculture.
Over the years, he has made significant contributions to research, teaching, and infrastructure development of the college. He has published over 50 research papers in reputed journals and has been associated with more than 10 research projects, including serving as Principal Investigator of the Centre of Excellence (Phase I and Phase II) projects.
His pioneering work in developing aquaculture feed in North East India-tested across Tripura, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, has been widely recognized. Notably, he developed India’s first floating fish feed in 2012 and played a lead role in promoting Wolffia as an alternative feed for fishes.
He has also developed packages of practices in aquaculture and emphasized the use of locally available and producible resources in fish feed formulation. Besides his research accomplishments, Prof. Patel has played a key role in establishing research infrastructure in the college and has previously served as Academic In-Charge and In-Charge Dean before assuming the position of regular Dean. The College fraternity extended a warm welcome to Prof. Patel and expressed confidence that under his leadership, the institution will continue to excel in fisheries education, research and outreach in the North Eastern region of India.
