Fish catch down for third year in a row The Hindu Business Line dated 3rd May 2016

India‘s marine fish catch dropped 5.3 per cent in 2015, with oil sardines recording the sharpest fall of 51 per cent. The overall marine fish landings reduced to 3.40 million tonnes against 3.59 million tonnes in 2014, registering a fall of 1.89 lakh tonnes, scientific data estimated by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) showed. After the all-time high landings of 3.94 million tonnes in 2012, the marine fish catch is showing a decreasing trend every year. It reduced from 4 per cent in 2013 to 5 per cent in 2014, and has now come down to 5.3 per cent, said scientists who estimated the data. As a major setback for fisheries, a sharp decline of 2.79 lakh tonnes (51 per cent) was witnessed in oil sardines landings, especially in the south-west coast comprising Kerala, Karnataka and Goa. The contribution of oil sardine – which is the single largest contributor towards the total catch – reduced from 15 per cent in 2014 to 8 per cent in 2015