Tiny sardine could determine fishing industry’s survival

Is the drop in the catch of sardines a result of over exploitation of the sea resources? Or is it a sign of global warming? These are questions that have to be not just pondered over, but also studied so as to determine the reasons for the depletion of resources and also find solutions to the declining fish catch.

The fishing community in the State could be looking at a major setback, as sardines are the single largest contributor to the total fish catch. Statistics show that in 2015 the sardine landing was 57,270 tonnes and then in 2016 it dropped rather drastically to 33,326 tonnes and now up to June it stands at 18,254 tonnes which, according to experts in the fishing industry, is very less. 

There are two possible reasons to the declining sardine catch that need to be further studied. According to scientists at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) one of the reasons could be the rising water temperature couple with the El Nino effect and another over-exploitation, besides others. Rising water temperatures is a result of the changing climatic conditions, and one of the first effects of climate change would be on water temperatures, which would rise. The possibility of the declining sardine catch being a result of global warming cannot be ruled out without further study. Experts do believe that the warming has had an impact on fish eggs in streams or on the sea floor as these require a minimum current speed for oxygenation. Since sardines require fresh water to induce spawning, the increased heat and less freshwater because of deficient rainfall can disrupt the process.

Overexploitation of course is not a new phenomenon and has been debated for the past two decades in the State. Fishing beyond the maximum sustainable yield has to end. Another aspect of this is the excessive fishing of juvenile fish that does not allow them to breed and replenish the resources in the sea. Both these need to be addressed urgently, as the seriousness of the issue is amplified by the fact that the catch is less not just off the coast of Goa, but also in the neighbouring States of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the south, which have far longer coastlines than ours.

Against this backdrop, there is not only the question of the survival of the sardine species, but the consequences of a declining sardine catch could also be economic, as there are already fears that the local fishing community could be hit. While the current study may be only about sardines, fisheries resources the world over are seeing a drop, and a UN report that is almost a decade old had warned that in the future half the fishing fleet could be rendered useless if there is no positive change in the fish catch.

What we could be staring at is stricter government regulation in fisheries. There already is a ban on fishing during the breeding season and we could be reaching a point where, just as there has been a cap imposed on the extraction of ore in the State, there could be need of a similar regulation on fishing, where vessels would have to be restricted to certain tonnage per year or season. This scenario is not farfetched, as such regulations do exist in other countries. Before that happens, it would be in the interest of the fishing community to take measures that will ensure that there is replenishment of the sea resources, through sustainable fishing. It would be in their economic interest to do so, while also ensuring that future generations do not suffer due to the short term aims of the current generation.