Climate change impact on fishing communities has prompted the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) to launch an initiative to create awareness on the issue among fisherfolk.
As part of the campaign under the National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture Project, scientists of the institute explained the science behind climate change, its effects on fishery, and the adaptation strategies to reduce its impact on the livelihood of fishers of two major fishing villages in Ernakulam — Kuzhuppilly and Chellanam.
A communication from the CMFRI quoting the scientists said increasing sea surface temperature resulted in migration of many economically harvest-able fish stock to relatively cooler waters leading to a shift in fish distribution affecting fish catch. They also said the rising temperature was causing a decline in dissolved oxygen levels in inland water bodies. “This can lead to increased fishkill and make the aquatic species susceptible to diseases due to a weakened immune system,” said Grinson George, principal Investigator of the project. Ratheesh Kumar R., centre coordinator, and Reshma Gills, co-principal investigator, are also part of the team.
During the interactive session on Saturday, the fisher community from both the villages flagged issues facing by them, including lack of marketing facilities and poor catch. In order to address the issue of reducing the shelf life of locally harvested fish due to increasing temperature, the CMFRI distributed ice boxes to fisherwomen in Chellanam. A total of 37 boxes were provided to women fishers, who are involved in local subsistence fishing activity in the village. They were also provided with gillnets, cast nets, pots, and seabass fish seeds during the programme.
