india

Updated: May 04, 2019 19:01 IST

Sardines, considered the common man’s food in south India because of its affordability is thinning on dining tables as dwindling catch has sent the cost of the fish soaring by 400% to 800% in Kerala.

Scientists attribute the falling harvest to climate change and El Nino effect.

P J Lawrence has been a fisherman for 30 of his 45 years and an expert in spotting the catch. A native of Vizinjam he was once most sought after because of his ability to locate the shining schools of sardines by gauging water movement and light. But the ever dwindling catches have sent cost of sardine fishing up.

“What is disturbing is that oil sardine is depleting fast. Since it is the main prey of other predator varieties their numbers are also declining simultaneously,” he said adding people like him end up in spending more on fuel and net in high seas.

Changes are stark in fish markets. In Palayam fish market in Thiruvananthapuram, a kilo of sardines cost between Rs 25-Rs 50 last year. Now it costs more than Rs 200 a kg, said a vendor. Climate change and increase in water temperature force fish like sardines to go to deeper portion of seas, she explained.

Indian oil sardine is a sensitive pelagic fish (pelagic fish live neither bottom nor near the shore) whose biological cycle are easily be upset even due to slight differences in ocean ecosystem, said scientists of the Central Marine Research Institute.

“El Nino has proven to be seriously influencing the growth and reproduction of oil sardine resources. It was also noted that sardine used to migrate from Malabar coast to the east coasts during El Nino years”, said senior scientist of CMFRI Dr Abdussamad who published a book on the wonder fish - ‘The Enigmatic Indian Oil Sardine: An Insight’.

El Nino is a climatic pattern that occurs when sea surface temperature in tropical Pacific Ocean rises above normal levels.

He said oil sardine in south Indian coast suffered growth retardation and spawning failure because of El Nino. “What is more alarming now is that El Nino struck again even before the resource recovered from biological stress like spawning failure in full scale which is likely to trouble sardine stock”, he said.

Nutritionists say sardine is rich in numerous nutrients and one of the concentrated sources of omega 3 fatty acid which helps curb cardiovascular diseases. “Usually people prefer big fish. But more than big, small fish like sardines are good for health. Sardine is rich in Omega 3 fatty acid that helps in creating good cholesterol and better body metabolism,” said nutritionist Dr Lalitha Appukuttan of NIMS hospital. She said sardine is a reservoir of nutrients.

According to CMFRI statistics sardine landings in the country in 2015 was 2,65667 tonne, 2,44992 tonne in 2016 and went up 3,37390 tonne in 2017. But in 2018 and early 2019 it came down drastically by at least 20 per cent. Scientists say thinning sardine is really worrisome because it affects the marine cycle badly.

Marine scientists say rising pollution of the sea is another reason for dwindling sardines. By 2050 major oceans will have more plastic than fish, said a leading marine scientist Dr V Kirpa of CMFRI. She said going by the present trend 850 million metric tonne of plastic will be found in the ocean by 2050 whereas only 821 million metric tonne of fish will remain in sea by that time. She said every year there is a sharp increase in the quantum of plastic waste dumped into oceans and if the situation continued like this plastic debris will outnumber marine creatures, especially fish species.