Kollam/Kochi: The coastal waters of Kerala are reputed for their abundance of fish and the state widely recognised as one of the largest fish consuming and exporting states of the country. But mechanisation and advancement in technology has led to over-exploitation of the fish in the sea, and to a dwindling catch which in turn has led to growing poverty among the traditional fishing hamlets of the state.
Contributing to the fall in catch is the relatively new practice of netting the fish fry for insignificant purposes. The mindless destruction of the young fish has inevitably led to a fall in catch and a rise in the price of fish across the state. In blatant violation of the high court ban, the fish fry netted out of the sea are seen piled up at harbours in Azheekkal, Neendakara, and Sakthikulangara for transportation to neigbhouring states.
“Tonnes of young fish are transported to Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as chicken feed for as little as Rs 10 a kg, while the fully grown fish fetch around Rs 200 a kg in the markets. As tens of thousands of fry are caught, there are fewer adult fish around today,” says Mr Jacob Joseph, a sea food commission agent.
Fishes like Painthi, Maana, Etta, and Thirandi are no longer found in the same numbers along the state’s coast owing to the unscientific and unsustainable fishing that goes on unchecked. Worryingly, the fish varieties too have reduced drastically owing to the dumping of waste into the sea. “Even small fishing vessels catch fish fries going against the law which is not effectively enforced. The concept of a trawling ban too needs to be rethought according to the shift in the breeding patterns of fish,” says Adv. John Cyril, a marine expert.
While eight commissions have been appointed to check unscientific and improper fishing practices along the Kerala coast, only one recommendation on engaging trawling has been implemented as a statute so far. The commissions had also recommended banning fishing nets with a mesh size below 28 mm, but this has been largely ignored. Global warming is also playing a role as the fish species near the shore tend to migrate to the cooler interior and deeper waters, badly affecting shallow fishing.
Fishermen look for other jobs
The fishermen in the Kozhikode coast are a worried lot over the sharp decline in catch which has been continuing for last many months. The sharp decline in rains and the subsequent summer along with deep sea fishing by huge fishing vessels might have caused the fall in fish availability, says fishermen. “Many fish species are not even seen these days”, said KS Nissar, a fisherman at Nainamvalappu, Kozhikode.
“The extreme heat and ubiquitous fishing vessels with all fishing nets robbing all the sea wealth result in low catch”, he said. “Now the sea is hotter than the tarred road and it is tough for us to sustain during day time”, Mr Nissar said, adding that many varieties have dwindled almost to nil. “We had never faced a situation where we had to depend on some other job for livelihood. Although there have been fluctuations in the catch, we have somehow managed to meet the daily needs”, said NV Ashraf, another fisherman.
Fisheries deputy director S Selvest told DC that the department had conducted a study on the impact of ban on monsoon trawling which proved that there was a steady increase in sea wealth after the introduction of the ban. “But the entry of huge fishing ships eliminated countless fish varieties and also resulted in fast dwindling of sea wealth”, he added.
Sharp decline in fish landing in 2013
The year 2013 saw a sharp decline in fish landing in Kerala, according to the figures of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here. While the catch was 8.39 lakh tonnes in 2012, it came down to 6.71 lakh tonnes in 2013. The catch was 7.43 lakh tonnes in 2011. But CMFRI has no evidence that the practice of catching juvenile fish for making fish feed is a reason for the fall in catch.
“Fluctuations in quantity of the catch happen due to various reasons. We have come across destruction of habitats of fish due to over exploitation. There are environmental reasons as well,” said Ms V. Kripa, senior scientist with CMFRI. According to the agency, 25% of the catch in the state comprises of oil sardine and mackerel. While oil sardines accounted for 3.99 lakh tonnes of the catch in 2012, this came down to 2.46 lakh tones in 2013.
Ms Kripa added that normally February to May was a lean season for fish landing in Kerala. “The rise in prices of fish is also on account of increasing demand,” she explained. As per the Marine Census of 2010, there are 1.45 lakh active fishermen in Kerala.
