Why spiralling price of oil sardines is triggering mock protests online in Kerala

Spiralling oil sardine prices in Kerala spark mock protests on social media amid unusual shortage in supply.

The spiralling price of oil sardines and an unusual shortage in supply have startled fish lovers across Kerala triggering a wave of mock protests on social media platforms, while artisanal fishermen appear to be making the best of a brief window of time in a year that has seen little or no fishing activities so far.

The onset of rain was expected to help solve poor fish availability but the past three weeks have seen poor landings, says Antony Kurisinkal from Alappuzha. He says the situation is quite bad for most fishermen, who usually depend on sardine fisheries during the monsoon even as the annual trawling ban is in force.

Fresh oil sardines sourced from small boats sold for ₹400 a kg on June 15 (Saturday), up from the previous range of around ₹210 to ₹250. However, the oil sardines now available are the traditionally favoured rounded and fatty ones, says a salesman at the cooperate Matsyafed store in Kochi. He says oil sardines are “booked” even before they arrive at the stall.

Still considered fish lovers’ favourite for its quality and low price, oil sardines have surprised fish eaters this season. The season looks headed for fish scarcity in general and sardine scarcity in particular, says P.V. Wilson of Chellanam.

The high price of sardines has also had its reflection on social media, with some posts registering mock protests over what they called the humble sardine growing too big for its shoes. Some posts say the common people have always “stood by sardines even in their humble days.”

However, fishermen’s union leader Charles George rules out a possible poor year for sardines because, he says, the season is just beginning. He claims that oil sardines have made a comeback in terms of catch volume from a mere 3,200 tonnes during 2021 to about 1.36 lakh tonnes in 2023 in Kerala. The average catch used to be around 2.5 lakh tonnes a year, he adds.

Meanwhile, some fishermen, like Mr. Antony, have pointed to fish scarcity along the coast between Alappuzha and Chettuva in Thrissur district. He says oil sardine catch has mostly been concentrated in the northern districts, while Kayamkulam, Kollam and Azheekkal have seen semblance of normality in sardine catch over the last week. However, he says, this is not sufficient to predict a good year for sardine fisheries.