Fishers, especially those in the traditional and artisanal segments, want the current fish drought-like situation to be discussed at a joint forum of researchers and fishers to understand the situation and come up with solutions for the future.
Independent trade fishermen’s forum Kerala Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi alleged that both the Union and State governments had neglected fishermen despite thousands of them playing a crucial role in earning precious foreign exchange and ensuring nutritional security for lakhs of families.
An emergency meeting of fishermen and researchers should be convened to introduce changes that would ensure a sustainable future for the sector, said Charles George, convenor of the fishermen’s forum.
The sharp rise in temperature witnessed in 2023 has continued. Heat waves have hit the Indian waters repeatedly this season. Since February this year, fishing boats have been grounded. The grounded vessels include around 450 inboard engine boats in which 40 to 50 people are required, around 2,000 fishermen in vessels that are innovated and around 9,800 workers in ring boats. These numbers add up to about one lakh traditional fishermen.
Indian shores have seen oil sardine landings of around ₹2,500 crore. However, a shortage of oil sardines that started in 2013 has continued into 2021. The sector had lost about ₹10,000 crore on account of the shortage of sardine landings alone over the years, Mr. George added.
Though Indian fishermen caught around 3.99 lakh tonnes of oil sardines in 2012, the volume fell to a mere 2,392 tonnes in 20221. The fish variety made a comeback in 2022 with a catch of 1.01 lakh tonnes. The volumes have continued to reign high in 2023 too.
However, it had been noticed that the size of the sardines caught off the coast of Kerala was small and the traditional fat and rounded sardines were missing from the coastal waters off the State, he claimed. The bulk of the sardines fell below the minimum legal size and had gone into fish meal factories as raw material.
The government has come out with figures for the losses sustained in the agricultural sector. Fishing was an indispensable part of agricultural activities and similar studies should be conducted in the fisheries sector to ascertain the losses and to formulate a relief package for the community, the fishermen’s union demanded.
