JOIN USUttara Kannada fishermen landed a bumper catch last year
However, there will be a brief lull in the activities related to mechanised fishing till July 31 due to the rainy season. The conventional fishing activities will continue. The break for mechanised fishing has led to a slump in business at the Karwar, Belekeri, Tadadi, Kumta, Honnavar and Bhatkal fishing ports. The yield of fish has been the highest this time in the last 10 years. It was 88,000 metric tonnes in 2010-11, amounting to a business of Rs 34.15 crore.
The yield in 2009-10 was 59,000 crore with business worth Rs 25 crore. The highest yield in 2010-11 was in October at 10,911 tonnes, amounting to a business of Rs 33.5 lakh.
The Tarle variety of fish, rich in oil content, has proved to be the luckiest for the fishermen, with an yield of 30,000 metric tonnes. The yield was 27,502 tonnes last year. The other high yield varieties are Bangade with an yield of 19,000 metric tonnes, prawns with 5,118 tonnes, Pomfret with 2,153 tonnes and Surma 1,193 tonnes.
Also, this year has recorded the highest number of fish varieties (53) being netted by the fishermen out of a total of 132 varieties. However, barring Tarle and Bangade, the yield of other varieties is falling year by year and this has caused concern among the fishermen.
The farmers have installed fish cold systems in their boats so as to be able to catch the Surma and Pomfret varieties of fish in deep sea at a distance of 100 to 150 nautical miles from the shore.
Anjanadevi, the assistant director in the fisheries department, said that the fish numbers are dwindling as fishing is done during the breeding season. She favours the framing of a fisheries policy by the government for reforms in the industry.