In spite of ban no action on rampant juvenile fishing. Massive haul of juvenile mackerels at Neendakara on Tuesday

By Ignatius Pereira

A 52 day ban on trawling as the medium of fishing is in force in the Kerala waters of India from June 10. The basic aim of the ban is to conserve marine wealth. That means allowing fish to spawn and multiply since the monsoon period is generally believed to be the time when fishes spawn and multiply in the Kerala waters. The ban on trawling which is in force means a fishing holiday only for the mechanised sector. Mechanised fishing boats are not allowed entry into the sea till the ban period ends. The traditional sector fishermen are allowed to fish.

But even as the ban is in force, defeating the every purpose of the ban, the traditional sector is engaged in massive destructive and juvenile fishing. The post trawling ban period is witnessing colossal harvest of juvenile fish and hundreds of tonnes of such fish are being brought from the sea to fishing landing sites and sold.

On Tuesday (June 26, 2018) massive landings of juvenile mackerels was noticed at the Neendakara fishing harbour in Kollam district of Kerala. These catches were brought by the traditional sector fishermen. Each basket of these fish was auctioned for Rs. 3000 (US $ 44 approx). If the general ethics of fishing is that fishes from the seas are fished by fishermen for human consumption only a small portion of the juvenile mackerels that were brought the Neendakara Harbour went for that purpose. The big majority of the juveniles caught went to distant places as raw material for pig and poultry feed factories. The fish were also caught by using banned fish nets like ring seine nets will

This is in spite of the fact that the Kerala government, in an attempt to stop the depletion of marine fish stocks, had last year banned juvenile fishing. The plan is to take action in the form of hefty fines against those in fishing boats if the catch is 50% juvenile fish. During the initial days of the ban action was promptly initiated by the Fisheries Department authorities. But something happened later that made the authorities develop cold feet.

In February this year the authorities intercepted huge catches of juvenile fish from mechanised fishing boats at the Munambam fishing harbour in Ernakulam district, confiscated the catch and imposed heavy fines. Soon afterwards gang of over 200 men led by the boat owners mobbed the nearby fisheries department station, brutally attacked the officers, destroyed the properties at the station, retrieved the confiscated catch and dumped it into the sea. After that incident, action against juvenile fishing took a back seat.

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), an India government institution, describes juvenile fish as immature ­ fishes that have not yet had the opportunity to replenish the ­ fish population by spawning. A few years ago the CMFRI had recommended to the Kerala government to ban juvenile fishing of 58 species of edible fish. But the government banned only 14 species. Yet that ban was there only on paper.

Last year the State government thought on the lines of taking the CMFRI recommendation seriously and called seminars invite suggestions to take the ban forward.  Marine enthusiast and environment activist, Mr. V.K. Madhusoodanan who had strongly argued for the ban of all the 58 species suggested by the CMFRI said that the juvenile mackerels being brought to the fish landing sites was being deliberately fished because mackerels are pelagic fish and fishermen can see their size and well understand that they are juvenile mackerel shoals. Whereas the mechanised sector is unable to see the catch till it is lifted above the waters, he added. “So in such cases that have happened at the Neendakara harbour on Tuesday, strong action should be taken”.

The CMFRI report says that when juveniles are caught in large numbers, the natural replenishment in the ­fishing grounds through their maturation and spawning processes get disturbed. This can cause a decline in ­fish catches and may lead to the collapse of certain vulnerable ­fishery resources having biological traits such as slow growth, low fecundity and restricted distribution. “The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) spells out that while the aim of maximizing returns is pursued by the ­ fishermen it should be done without adversely affecting the self-sustaining nature of the ­ fishery resources and with least impact on the ecosystem”.