District records dip in fish catch

KOCHI: After the first half of 2018 saw good landings of sardines and mackerels, there is a severe dip of fish in most landing centres in the latter half of the year in Ernakulam district. Business has become dull and fishing boats are coming almost empty.

Despite Ockhi disrupting operations and catches last year, the district reported a 26% hike in the said period.

The fishermen community say after the floods they got good catch for a few weeks, but subsequently it dipped. “The heavy rains brought us good catch; but after that, the catch has been less. Out of desperation, fishermen are coming back with juvenile catches,” said Charles George, state president, Kerala Fish Workers’ Union. Juveniles almost bordering on the permitted size are being sold in the Ernakulam market, he said. “This was not done before,” he added.

Implementation of minimum legal size (MLS) and strict monitoring of irregular and unregulated fishing practices bettered the catch last year and it could pay off in the coming years, experts said.

In the 2017 marine catch data that was released earlier this year, Ernakulam district accounted for nearly 26% of the total catch in Kerala. The state had recorded a 12% growth against the previous year with oil sardines showing a three-time hike.

According to the provisional estimates of the fisheries resource department of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), there is a 5-6% hike in landings of Indian oil sardine and mackerel till May 2018 in the state. “Malappuram district had more than double the landings during this period compared to corresponding period last year,” said Sathianandan T V, principal scientist, CMFRI. There is a 14-20% decrease in landings of scads and penaeid prawns, he said.

In Kochi and Thoppampady harbours and the other landing centres in the district, fishermen who came together for implementing the MLS and preventing juvenile fishing are dejected at the fall in the catch in the past one month. “When we are working to become responsible fishers, the government should compensate us when there is no catch,” George said.