Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE), Mumbai was established in the year 1961 as an inservice training centre to impart proficient training and education to fisheries professionals so as to equip them to face the growing challenges in the Fisheries Sector. It is the only Deemed University for fisheries in India. It is an Institution of higher learning for fisheries science in India. It was instituted in 1961 CIFE Came under the administrative control of the Indian Council for Agricultiral Research (ICAR). A Total of four subcentres operate under CIFE, Including ones at Kolkata (West Bengal), Rohtak (Haryana), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and Powerkheda (Madhya Pradesh).

The Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) was established by the Government of India, with the assistance of FAO/UNDP on 6th June 1961. The main purpose of its establishment was to impart post-graduate education and training largely to the inservice fisheries personnel of the country of support fisheries developmental activities. The CIFE Started functioning at the Institute of Science Building in Bombay (Mumbai, now) and initially the academic activities were organized in three divisions viz, Fishery Biology, Fishery Technology and Fishery Economics for conducting a two-year postgraduate course of Diploma in Fisheries Science (D.F.Sc). The Institute was shifted to a rented building at Masjid Bunder, Bombay in 1964. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, at this stage, actively collaborated with the Govt. of India and helped in strengthening infrastructural facilities at CIFE by providing sophisticated equipments together with expertise of high standard. The fishing vessel, MFV Harpodon received under FAO / UNDP assistance in 1968 provided basic facilities for on-board training in the areas such as marine fishing, fishery biology and oceanography. The Institute headquarters moves to its own building at Versova in March 1967 and acquired its first centre, the Inland Fisheries Training Centre, Barrackpore in West Bengal from Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) on October 1967.

The Institute also took control of the erstwhile Fisheries Extension Centres of the Govt. of India and organized them a sub-centres for Inland Fisheries Operatives Training at Agra and Hyderabad. These centres were subsequently shifted to Chinhat near Lucknow (UP) and Kakinada (AP).

The infrastructural needs in terms of aqua farms were greatly fulfilled by the transfer of Brackishwater Fish Farm at Kakinada in September 1968 and the Freshwater Fish Farm at Balabhadrapuram in 1973 from the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. In 1967, the University of Bombay accorded recognition to CIFE as a study centre for M.Sc. and Ph.D Programmes by research in the fields of Applied Zoology and Biochemistry. Several other Institution such as IIT, MUmbai, IIT, Kharagpur and Mangalore University also recognized CIFE as a study centre for Ph.D Programmes.

Grant of Accreditation to CIFE, Mumbai:

As a part of new initiatives taken by Indian Council of Agricultural Research to ensure quality in higher education by the process of accreditation of agricultural education system, CIFE has initiated Institutional accreditation process in 2001. The information and data on various aspects of CIFE was collected from different task forces constituted for the purpose. The collected information along with the data of available documents as process and edited to bring out a self-study report consisting of 12 chapters encompassing 12 annexure, 31 tables and 27 figures running into 218 pages. The Self-study report was submitted to the Accreditation Board, ICAR, New Delhi on 19th November 2001.

The Self-Study Report for Accreditation was validated by the Peer Review Team constituted by the Director General, ICAR, New Delhi. In response to report of the Peer Review Team in respect of CIFE and its postgraduate centers, the comments and views on how to overcome the challenges and implementing the suggestions were submitted to the Council on 3rd December 2003.

Based on the recommendations of the ICAR Peer Review Team, the Accreditation Board of ICAR, New Delhi granted the Accreditaton to the CIFE, Mumbai and step to offer course work of all the MFSE and Ph.D Programmes at CIFE, Mumbai. The accreditation has helped the institute to bring all the academic programmes under its fold.