Alappuzha: The fish stock in Kerala is depleting, according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
It has warned that fish catch this year will decline further. Fish stock has been depleted due to climate change in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Rising temperature on the surface of the sea and below due to the phenomenon called El Nino is affecting fish stock.
Ever since the 2012 bumper fish catch, availability of fish has been falling steadily. In 2012, total fish catch in the country was 39 crore tonnes. In 2014, it fell to 35.9 crore tonnes. It is feared that the fall this year will be much worse.
The biggest drop is seen in sardine catch. In 2012, Kerala alone had got 4 lakh tonnes of sardines. After dropping to 2 lakh tonnes last year, sardine catch has fallen further. Sardines account for 12 per cent of Kerala’s fish catch. Sardines, which were earlier available only in Kerala, Karnataka and Goa, are now seen in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Researchers are worried by the fall in sardine catch everywhere.
Click here for some Keralite recipes
The catch of even small fish like anchovies and big fish such as seer fish, pomfrets and sharks has also declined. Though there are 1,200 fish varieties on Kerala coast, generally only 700 varieties are caught. Fishing is done up to a depth of 50-100 metres, an area badly affected by climate change.
In addition to climate change, the changes in method of catching fish also affect its stock. If fishing boats used 10 hp outboard engines earlier, today they use even 300 hp engines and employ 60-80 people. With the use of seine nets with small mesh size, even fingerlings and fry get caught, affecting fish stock.
