Shrimp catch, return of oil sardines bring cheer to fishermen

Return of fat oil sardines and substantial shrimp catch brings hope to struggling traditional fishermen in Kerala.

The tentative start to the new fishing season after a long dry spell and rising sea temperature has sprung a pleasant surprise for small-craft operators in Chellanam and some of the other landing centres in the form of a return of the “fat oil sardines”, traditionally favoured by fish eaters in Kerala. The harvest of shrimp, including the naran variety, has also been substantial, said fishermen in Chellanam.

The fishing harbour in the south end of the district saw substantial catch of sea naran since Saturday. P.V. Wilson, a fisherman in Chellanam, said that some of the small boats were able to net shrimp worth ₹90,000 on Saturday. Some of them had smaller catches on Sunday but were good enough to tide over the present financial crisis. The catch varied between the boats but is a consolation to the fishermen who have been virtually starving since early March this year due to the high sea temperature that triggered a flight of fish from near-shore waters, Mr. Wilson added.

Charles George, representing the independent union of fishermen Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, called the return of oil sardines “a miracle after about a decade”. He said though sardine catch had been sparse in the southern districts, there was scope for optimism in other districts like Alappuzha and Ernakulam.

Since early January this year, the larger sardines had gone missing from Kerala coast, driving the traditional fishermen depending on sardine fisheries into virtual penury. However, there was a glimpse of hope now, Mr. Charles added.

Antony Kurisinkal, a traditional fisherman, who has been on a cycle tour across coastal India and returned on Saturday, said fish scarcity had been witnessed all along the country’s coast. Traditional fishermen were the worst hit while big boat operators were also unable to function to their capacity.

Mr. Antony said that there had been shrimp catch in Thottappally in Alappuzha and in some of the neighbouring fish landing centres, which raised hope for traditional fishermen, who will be out of the purview of the annual trawling ban from June 9.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Wilson called on the fisheries department authorities monitoring the sea to act strongly against destructive practices like night trawling and pair trawling involving two boats at the same time to preserve juveniles and make fisheries sustainable in the long run.