KOCHI: On a steep decline since 2014, oil sardines have returned to the state’s coast. Huge shoals of oil sardine have been found in the state’s coastline since July, at a time when Kerala was dreading the disappearance of its staple fish variety.
However, experts have warned against indiscriminate juvenile fishing of the species as it may diminish hopes of its regeneration. As per reports, fishermen across the state caught juvenile oil sardines in huge quantities in the past two months. This, experts said, threatened to deplete their numbers.
While mechanised boat owners blamed traditional fishermen for the destructive fishing practice, the latter alleged trawl boats employing pair trawling practice were catching juvenile fish in large quantities. In 2012, fishermen in the state caught 3.9 lakh tonnes of oil sardines. The number plummeted to just 3,297 tonnes in 2021.
Though the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) issued an alert to the fisheries department urging it to intensify surprise checks and strictly implement the minimum legal size (MLS), the department was late to respond.
Outfit for strict checking, hefty fines for juvenile fishing
“I had written to the fisheries director last month seeking a ban on fishing for two weeks to allow the species time to grow. There was no response. The request was made keeping interests of fishermen in mind as they can earn ten times more profit if they let the fish grow,” said CMFRI former principal scientist K Sunil Mohamed. He said traditional fishermen are exempted from the trawling ban implemented during the June-July period.
“The fishermen use sonar to scan fish shoals and can check their size before casting nets. We had issued an advisory to the fisheries department in July to regulate juvenile fishing. Huge quantities of juvenile oil sardines were caught in the past two months and a major chunk was sent to other states,” said CMFRI principal scientist E M Abdussamad.
While leaders of fishermen union maintained they had educated fishermen about the pitfalls of juvenile fishing, sources said 20 truckloads of juvenile fish are being transported to fish meal factories every day from Chellanam harbour alone. On its part, the fisheries department has been taking those indulging in juvenile fishing to task. Last week, it had slapped a fine on the owner of a country boat at Chellanam harbour.
“We have been inspecting fishing vessels at random and penalising boats that catch juvenile fish. A few days ago, a country boat was seized with 10 tonnes of juvenile oil sardines in Thrissur. It is good news that the species has returned. If we wait two months, the fish will get bigger and bring better returns for fishermen,” said fisheries department joint director (central zone) M S Saju.
Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi president Charles George said the government should deploy officers at all landing centres to check the catch. “Hefty fines should be imposed on those involved in juvenile fishing.
Trucks transporting fish to fish meal factories should be checked and fined if found flouting norms,” he said. Sunil Mohamed said catching fully-grown oil sardines in abundance is not an issue as the species has high reproductive potential. “It regenerates in 7-8 year cycles. Its present abundance in the state’s coast may be an indication of regeneration. We have to self-regulate to sustain the fish,” he said.
MINIMUM LEGAL SIZE
Minimum legal size (MLS) is 10cm for oil sardines and 14cm for Indian mackerel. Experts opine the MLS of oil sardines should be raised to 14cm