Fish output in state dips 20%, Jamnagar is worst hit

Aggregate fish production in Gujarat has been hit hard with the state-wide output dipping by almost 20 per cent between April and January 2003-04 compared with the last year.

The worst-hit has been the Jamnagar fishing industry, with a fish output in the period from April 2003 to January 2004 falling by as much as 68.54 per cent compared with the last year.

According to official figures, total output in Gujarat during April 2003-January 2004 stood at 4.95 lakh tonnes as against an output of 6.19 lakh tonnes in the period between April 2002 and January 2003.

This represents a fall of 19.98 per cent. Barring Anand, Rajkot, Surat and Valsad, there has been a decline in fish production in all the other districts of the state, where fishing is a major industry.

Anand and Rajkot do not have a coastline and fishing here mainly takes place as pisciculture. The highest decline of fish output was recorded at Jamnagar, where the catch fell by as much as 68.54 per cent.

Junagadh continued to have the highest fish production in the period between April 2003 and January 2004 with an output of two lakh tonnes. Despite this, fish production in Junagadh fell by 18.83 per cent.

Gujarat has the longest coastline in the country and fishing is an industry in 13 of the 25 districts of the state.

The districts where fishing is an industry are Amreli, Anand, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kutch, Kheda, Navsari, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Valsad.

The issue of depleting fish catch was discussed in a seminar jointly organised by the state fisheries department, industrial associations and the Porbandar Boat Association, in Porbandar.

State fisheries officials were of the opinion that haphazard fishing has disturbed the flora and fauna of the coastal regions, directly affecting fish output.

Other factors that could have caused the drop in output are using nets that catch even smaller fish and untimely fishing that could destroy the fish at the egg stage.

H M Naika, statistical officer of the state fisheries department, said one major reasons for the fall in fish output is increased costs of fishing to fishermen.

"The cost incurred by fishermen when they venture out into the sea have risen. This, in turn discourages them from venturing out into the sea. This has also caused reduction in output," Naika said.