Tight coastal watch helps raise tuna catch

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Kochi: Increased surveillance of Indian coasts in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks last year has lead to a sudden proliferation of the much-in-demand yellowfin tuna fish along the country’s west coast.

Heightened supervision of coasts has helped the yellowfin tuna (a species of tuna found in tropical and subtropical oceans) and skipjack tuna (fast-swimming fish also common in tropical waters) escape the nets of illegal pirate trawlers and thrive even near the coast, officials from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said.

Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) has been all along claiming that the additional surveillance by the Indian naval forces has stopped the operations of illegal trawlers who poach on India ‘s exclusive zone.

Fish catch in the western coast of India has shown remarkable increase during the later half of 2008 and first quarter of 2009, officials from the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA). “Dramatic improvement in landing of species like ribbon fish and cuttle fish helped in larger exports to China, in the process offsetting the losses made in the US and European market,” Anwar Hashim, national president of SEAI told FE.

Kerala coast had a record catch of tunas in 2008-09, both in pelagic fish ( sardines, mackerel, and tuna) and demersal fish (prawns, cuttlefish, perch fish etc.). The catch stood at 6.72 lakh tonne, more than 6.40 lakh tonne achieved in 1994. “The abundance of the yellowfin species in the Indian coast is surprising. We never thought that we had so much of these fish in our waters,” G Syda Rao, director of CMFRI told FE.

“These species can be now found even near the coast at depths of 100 -150 feet, which were unimaginable before,” he added.

The regional office of CMFRI in Vishakapattanam says that volume and value of the Tuna caught have improved in the recent months. “Size and weight of yellowfin landings have also increased when compared to the past,” sources said. Syda Rao believes that decline in poaching has helped in improving the availability.

“It is a fact that after the terror incidents we have intensified our operations in the Indian coast to help the Coast Guard. Earlier we used scout only for enemy vessels. Now we scan for even smaller vessels,” Commander Roy Francis, PRO (defence) told FE.