Fishing ban and poor catch drive up seafood price

Mangaluru: A 61-day fishing holiday on the East Coast from April 15, coupled with adverse weather on the West Coast that led to a drop in fish catch, resulted in a sharp spike in prices. Rates for big eye snapper (disco) and reef cod (muru) have tripled compared to last year. Although mackerel supply continues via purse seiners, prices vary based on daily boat landings. Many boats are avoiding daily trips due to high operating costs and poor catch.
Retailers admit that fish catch has gone down considerably compared to last year, and the fishing ban on the East Coast, the supply of which used to cushion prices here, has resulted in these high prices.
Suhail S, a retailer, says prices of mackerel, seer fish, white and black pomfret have seen a major spike. "The prices have been on the higher side for the past few months and will only come down after the fishing season starts here in Aug," he asserts. But still, the high-priced fish like white pomfret and seer fish, which were retailing at Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,200 per kg respectively, had takers on Monday.
Mackerel was retailing at Rs 380 to Rs 420 per kg, a sharp increase of 30% from the past fortnight. While the fishing ban ends on the East Coast mid-June, the fishing ban starts on the West Coast from June, giving no relief to fish eaters.
The most disturbing trend is that the fishing days have come down by 30% to 40% compared to last year, says Dr Sujitha Thomas, scientist (in-charge) of ICAR-CMFRI's Mangalore Regional Centre here. She notes that changes in sea temperature, which force fish schools to migrate to cooler temperatures, and changing current patterns are responsible for the low fish catch. CMFRI will do a study on this in detail soon, she added.
She also pointed out that while global warming has changed the catch of fish composition, commercially viable fish varieties are reducing, Thonde (puffer) varieties of fish are coming in bulk quantities. The species which have seen a decline are sardines, pink perch, and some more commercially viable fishes.
With the district witnessing its worst fishing crisis in recent years, unremunerative catch has seen nearly 60 to 70% of the 1,500 fishing boats, including purse seine and trawlers, anchored ashore. The catch has been so abysmal that fishermen have not even been able to recover their daily investments and are struggling to pay EMIs.
If cooking at home is pinching the purse, eating out is burning a hole in the wallet. At an ordinary eatery, seer filet gets charged a minimum of Rs 300, and mackerel is priced at Rs 100. In medium-level eateries, the prices are at least 40% more, and in high-end ones, it's almost 60% extra.