Stocks of prized prawns and lobsters may be depleting in the Indian coastal waters but fish species like sardines, seerfish and crabs still abound. Some non-conventional prawn resources have also emerged along both east and west coasts, according to a marine resource survey conducted by the Cochin-based Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
The decline in the shrimp catch is confined chiefly to the west coast which contributes the bulk of the countrys total prawn production. The marine institute estimates the west coasts prawn catch in 1995-96 stood at 1.4 lakh tonnes, accounting for nearly 72.5 per cent of the countrys total penaeid prawn landings. This reflects a perceptible decline of nearly 16.5 per cent over the previous years output.
Of the west coasts total landings, Kerala contributed 43,224 tonnes, Karnataka 7,783 tonnes, Goa 1,853 tonnes, Maharashtra 40,450 tonnes and Gujarat 42,013 tonnes.
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This amounted to a decline of 39.19 per cent in Kerala, 7.54 per cent in Karnataka, 29.19 per cent in Goa and 22.82 per cent in Maharashtra compared to the previous years position.
The studies for these estimates were carried out at Veraval, Mumbai, Karwar, Tadri, Malpe, Calicut, Kochi and Sakthikulangara using trawl data and Mangalore, Calicut, Kochi, Ambalapuzha and Vizhinjam using data collected from artisanal fishing gears.
On the east coast, it indicated a total production of 51,041 tonnes, reflecting a marginal increase of 1.6 per cent over the previous years landings. While the catch was down by 11.64 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 7.09 per cent in Tamil Nadu and 41.66 per cent in Pondicherry, it showed a remarkable increase of 168.81 per cent in West Bengal and 112.3 per cent in Orissa.
Trawlers accounted for over 91 per cent of prawn landings along this coast.
The data collected by the institute about other fish species showed that sardines catches improved significantly in 1995, especially along the west coast. The oil sardine, which had been on the decline for several years, also showed signs of revival in 1995-96.
Seerfish fisheries displayed appreciable improvement at all the centres, except Mangalore and Calicut. In the case of Bombay-duck fish, there was a marginal increase in landings in Maharashtra but fall in Gujarat. Ribbonfish catch declined at almost all the major centres.
The CMFRI estimates put the decline in the lobsters catch at 29.13 per cent. The landings of crabs, on the other hand, are estimated to have risen by 6.1 per cent in 1995-96.
The studies point out that diversification of trawling in recent years has resulted in emergence of non-conventional penaeid prawn resources along both coasts of India. Prominent among them are Metapenaeopsis stridulans at Mumbai and Mandapam; Trachypenaeus species at Mangalore and Sakhikulangara; Parapenaeopsis maxillipedo at Tuticorin, Pamban and Madras; and Solenocera species at Visakhapatnam and Paradeep.
Analysis of past five years data indicates that relatively smaller sized prawns, such as Parapenaeopsis maxillipedo, have replaced the large-sized green tiger prawn.