The trawl ban period usually brings a bounty in the form of shoals of fish, mostly sardines, along the coast of Alappuzha and other districts.
The phenomenon, called ‘chakara’ in local parlance, has been a cause for celebration among fishermen who make use of conventional crafts for fishing during June-July when the ban is imposed.
Mudbank
Chakara, known as mudbank in scientific terms, is a calm area off the shore where fish reach in abundance during the monsoon season.
Mudbank is suspended natural organic matter washed into the sea by the rain.
It attracts fish and traditional fishermen get a good catch for several days together.
The phenomenon has weakened over the years, resulting in dwindled catch. While fisheries experts attribute the waning of chakara to climate change, there are fishermen who argue that it is the result of indiscriminate fishing by vessels coming from other States and foreign countries in the outer sea during the trawl ban period.
While the fishermen are optimistic of a chakara this time too, no sign of the phenomenon has reached the shores yet. It might appear in the days ahead, though there are no high expectations.
The reduced fish catch has been a subject of study by the Central Marine Fisheries Research institute (CMFRI).
Unfavourable environmental impacts caused by the El Nino climatic conditions appear to have played a major role in the slump of oil sardine fishery, according to the 2015-16 CMFRI report.
Sardine catch
Total sardine catch in Kerala during 2015 was 7,8721 tonnes, of which oil sardine accounted for 86.9% (68,431 tonnes) and the other sardines accounted for 13.1% (10,290 tonnes).
Oil sardine catch along the Kerala coast declined drastically to 68,431 tonnes, registering a sharp decline from an estimated 1.55 lakh tonnes recorded in the previous year and a record 3.92 lakh tonnes during 2012, the report said.
The sardine catch in 2012 was 3.9 lakh tonnes, one of the highest in recent years. The catch declined by 46% in 2013 (catch - 2.1 lakh tonnes), then by 61% in 2014 (catch - 1.6 lakh tonnes) and by 82% in 2015, touching 68,431 tonnes.
