Kochi, Aug 4 (IANS) India’s marine fish landings logged a total of 3.47 million tonnes in 2024 with a slight decline of two per cent compared to the catch in 2023, according to ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

Gujarat retained its top position in overall fish landings with 7.54 lakh tonnes, followed by Tamil Nadu (6.79 lakh tonnes) and Kerala (6.10 lakh tonnes).

The CMFRI’s annual marine fish landing estimates showed that Indian mackerel remained the most landed resource in the country at 2.63 lakh tonnes, followed by oil sardine at 2.41 lakh tonnes.

All over India, species such as Indian mackerel, threadfin breams, oil sardine, ribbonfishes, non-penaeid shrimps, and cephalopods recorded a decline in 2024 compared to the previous year, while landings of lesser sardines, penaeid shrimps, anchovies, and tunnies increased.

When the west coast region suffered an overall decrease in landings, the east coast showed an increasing trend, with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh the exceptions. Maharashtra registered the highest growth of 47 per cent compared to the previous year.

West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha also saw notable increases of 35, 20 and 18 per cent, respectively.

However, states and UTs like Karnataka, Goa, and Daman & Diu experienced significant declines in landings.

In total, about 2.5 lakh fishing trips were monitored, offering an in-depth view into nationwide effort and productivity. The CMFRI report pointed out that cyclonic storms such as Dana, Fengal, Remal, and Asna significantly impacted fishing activities, contributing to the overall decline.

Increased heat wave days in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala further disrupted fishing operations.

Kerala recorded a marginal decrease of 4 per cent in the marine fish catch in 2024 compared to the previous year, totalling a landing of 6.10 lakh tonnes.

Indian oil sardine topped the list of most caught species in the state with 1.49 lakh tonnes, registering a slight increase of 7.6 per cent.

Indian mackerel (61,490 t), penaeid shrimp (44,630 t), anchovies (44,440 t) and threadfin breams (33,890 t) were the other major contributors to Kerala’s total marine catch.

Indian mackerel saw a decline of 16 per cent in landings.

The year witnessed very low landings and higher landings of oil sardine in different quarters.

It also saw an unusual fluctuation in oil sardine landings in the state.

A severe scarcity in the first quarter led to prices escalating to Rs 350-400 per kg.

However, from September onwards, as landings surged exceeding one lakh tonne in the last quarter, prices dropped sharply to Rs 20-30 per kg.

The Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division of the CMFRI estimated the annual marine fish landings of the country through its online data collection system.

–IANS

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