MANGALURU: Though the season for the Boothai (sardine) variety of fish has commenced in the Arabian Sea, poor catch of the fish has resulted in its prices going up. While a kg of sardine was earlier sold for Rs 70-100 per kg at Mangaluru fishing harbour, the price is now Rs 90 - Rs 150 per kg. Similarly, in Bengaluru, sardine is sold for Rs 180 per kg, while it was sold for Rs 130 till recently.
“Even wholesale prices have increased by Rs 30 to 40 per kg in the last one week. The reduced catch in the coast is pushing the prices up in Bengaluru,” Kavya Naveen, who runs a restaurant which mainly deals with coastal delicacies in Chandra Layout in Bengaluru, said.
“There is no Boothai available in the sea and there is hardly any boat bringing the fish to the coast. The ones that I am selling are from Kasaragod region of Kerala. It has been two months since Boothai arrived in the market,” says Mustafa, a vendor at Mangaluru fishing harbour.
“Mackerels are cheaper than sardines in Mangaluru ... 1 kg of mackerel is sold for Rs 70-100, while sardines fetch Rs 90 to 150,” Mustafa, a fish vendor at Mangaluru fishing harbour said.
As she winds up the day’s sales at the Mangaluru fishing harbour, Indira, a vendor, says sardines are the ones always in demand and they fetch good prices. However, it is hard to find them now. “If these boats ravage the sea catching eggs and juveniles, how will there be any fish left in the sea?” she rued. Indira said that the sardines available in the market are being ferried from places as far as the east coast, including Chennai. “Our people want sardines caught in our coast. Chennai sardines are not very tasty according to them and there is no demand for them here,” she added.
Deputy Director of Fisheries at Mangaluru, Chikkaveera Naik, said that the sardine season should have started by now.“Unlike inland fisheries, it is very difficult to predict marine fisheries. Sardines and mackerels are shoal fishes and their movement depends on conducive factors in the sea. We are getting mackerels and hope that sardine catch will improve soon,” he said.
The situation is the same across coastal Karnataka. The leader of fisherfolk Dhayananda Suvarna at Malpe said that sardines are hardly seen in the sea. “The season should have started now ... but not many sardines are in the net,” he said.
Mohan Bengre, president of Purse-seine Boat Owners’ Union at Mangaluru, hoped that the situation may ease from November when the fishing boats commence night fishing. Meanwhile, fishing trawlers in Karwar were able to catch sardines. Nadeem, a fish vendor in Bengaluru’s Vijayanagar, said that the prices in the city might increase further in the coming days if the catch continues to be low.