Fish catch rises in districts in the season just ended.

Fish catch rises in districts in the season just ended.

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, June 08, 2015: Sea  fish catch and its value has been on a constant rise in the three districts of coastal Karnataka for the last few years; the catch and value increased from 3,35,018 tonnes and Rs. 1504.44 crore in 2011-12 to 3,89,818 tonnes and Rs. 2,650.92 crore in 2014-15.

With an increase of 54,800 tonnes fish catch during the last four years, the value has increased by Rs. 1,146.48 crore. Experts in the field attribute this to, among other reasons, good prices for fish.  Deputy Director, Fisheries Department, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, M.D. Prasad said that the catch in 2014-15 stood at 1,50,525 tonnes against 1,48,272 tonnes recorded in the previous year in Dakshina Kannada. It was 1,43,310 tonnes and 1,40,607 tonnes respectively in Udupi.

In Uttara Kannada, the catch, which had drastically gone down to 68,478 tonnes in 2013-14, rose to 95,983 tonnes in 2014-15, according to M.L. Doddamani, Deputy Director of Fisheries of that district.
A combination of factors has helped fishermen net more catch, according to officials as well as fishermen. An increase in the number of boats, which stand at about 7,000, has been a major factor.  Mr. Prasad said that file fish, one of the species that had a great export potential, was available in large numbers last year.

Fishermen have been venturing into the deep seas thereby netting more catch, he said.  According to Naveen Bangera, president of Karnataka Purse-Seine Meenugarara Sangha, the use of modern technology, including wireless communication and global positioning system-based fish tracing system, has helped fishermen come home with a larger catch.

The uniform fishing holiday across the West Coast from June 1 to July 31 should result in increased availability of marine products, as fishing holidays were varied from State to State hitherto, said Vasudev Boloor, vice-president of National Fish Workers Forum.

On Kerala fishermen’s decision to adhere to the earlier 45-day holiday scheme starting June 15,  Vasudev said that the issue would be discussed during the next meeting of the forum.