Small-scale fishers in India’s southern state of Kerala have been hit hard as catches of oil sardine have gone down, according to a study carried out by India’s Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
Findings of the study were presented on 10 January at the international symposium on marine ecosystems held at the CMFRI.
More than half of the fishing efforts have been reduced in the state since 2014, resulting in the increase in unemployment in coastal villages, CMFRI Senior Scientist N Aswathy said.
The average net returns of outboard ring-seiners fell to INR 2,500 (USD 35.00, EUR 31.50) per fishing trip, from INR 12,000 (USD 168.20, EUR 151.40) per fishing trip during 2014-2018. This period also saw the oil sardine landings in Kerala slide to 77,000 metric tons (MT), from 250,000 MT, with an annual average decline of 19.82 percent.
The dwindling catches caused average sardine prices to rise to INR 120 (USD 1.68, EUR 1.51), from INR 47 (USD 0.66, EUR 0.59) in retail markets during 2014-2018. But the price hike has failed to lift the gross value of the fishery, which decreased to INR 9.25 billion (USD 129.7 million, EUR 116.7 million), from INR 12.19 billion (USD 170.9, EUR 153.8 million) at the retail level.
The third international symposium on marine ecosystems, which concluded on 10 January, was organized by the Marine Biological Association of India (MBAI).
The conference came up with a roadmap to deal with the issues being faced by marine ecosystems. Guidelines and proposals for the proper management of marine fisheries included in the roadmap could become a guide for policy makers for the next three years.
On top priority of the recommendations, marine scientists have called for a complete ban on trawling in India's territorial waters within 12 nautical miles. These areas should be demarcated as exclusive zone for small-scale fishermen, they said.
Photo courtesy of Santhosh Varghese/Shutterstock
