The Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai was established in the year 1961, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India. The Administrative control of this Institute was transferred to ICAR in 1979. Subsequently, the scope and mandate have been widened to include education, research and extension. Recognising the pivotal role played by the Institute in Human Resources Development in fisheries, the Institute was accorded the status of Deemed-to-be- University in March, 1989.

There are six major functional divisions at CIFE equipped with state of the art laboratories and various sections/cells to carry out specific work. The Institute has two campuses one at Yari road and another at Seven Bungalows, Mumbai. The new Yari road campus (three floors and basement) houses scientific divisions, chambers of the Director and Joint Director, Academic and Accounts sections, Conference hall, Community hall, Aquarium, Examination and Academic cells, Library building, Staff quarters and Ladies hostel etc. Wet labs, ponds and hatcheries are also developed in Yari road campus. The old campus at Seven Bungalows houses three divisions, laboratories, classrooms, computer cell, committee room, auditorium, workshop and museum. These two campuses are a kilometer apart from each other at Versova. The Institute with its headquarters at Mumbai has four centres at Kolkata (West Bengal), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Powerkheda (Madhya Pradesh) and Rohtak (Haryana) near Delhi. The Institute's field facilities include 20 ha Freshwater Fish Farm at Powerkheda (Madhya Pradesh); 9.0 ha Freshwater Fish Farm at Balabhadrapuram (Andhra Pradesh); 7.5 ha Brackishwater Fish Farm at Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), 4 ha Freshwater Fish Farm and 10 ha Ground Saline Water Farm at Rohtak for training and research in aquaculture. The Institute has two training-cum-research vessels viz.: M.F.V. Saraswati (36 m OAL) and M.F.V. Narmada (11 m OAL) for training and research in marine fisheries. The total sanctioned strength of the Institute as on 31 March, 2009 is 356 comprising of 2 Research Management, 104 Scientific, 113 Technical, 57 Administrative, 1 Auxialiary and 79 Supporting staff.

The CIFE has been accredited by ICAR for five years from September, 2007 to August, 2012. CIFE offers Master of Fishery Science programmes in nine disciplines viz. Fisheries Resources Management, Aquaculture, Post-harvest Technology, Fish Nutrition and Biochemistry, Fish Pathology and Microbiology, Fish Genetics and Biotechnology, Fish Business Management, Aquatic Environment Management and Fisheries Extension, while the doctoral programmes are offered in the ten disciplines viz. Fisheries Resources Management, Aquaculture, Post-harvest Technology, Fish Genetics, Fish Biotechnology, Fish Nutrition and Biochemistry, Fish Pathology and Microbiology, Fish Business Management, Aquatic Environment Management and Fisheries Extension.

A two-year post graduate (PG) Diploma in Fisheries Science, which the Institute used to conduct since its inception, mainly for inservice personnel of State Fisheries Departments, was discontinued from the academic year 1998. This course was solely responsible for providing the trained manpower for fisheries development in the country till fisheries colleges under State Agriculture Universities (SAUs) came into the picture during the Seventies.

The Institute at its Kolkata Centre has been conducting one year PG diploma in Inland Fisheries (PGDIF). This PGDIF is being discontinued from 2009 onwards. In its place Professional Development Progrmame (PDP) comprising different modules are being introduced from 2009. PDPs offer options for obtaining Diploma in Fisheries Enterprise Management or Diploma in Fisheries Development Management and also as many as certificate courses of four months duration each. The Diploma in Fisheries Enterprise Management would consist of the following modules:

In place of module 3 above if Fisheries Development Management model is opted then Diploma in Fisheries Development Management is awarded.