Seafarers would soon find their catch as scant to offer against a good sum at fisheries if the gigantic fleet of around 2000 boats harnessed with lethal meshes continued to sweep up the seabed within territorial waters and beyond.
Greed for money is widely attributed to the gross exploitation of marine life globally. But, the government has yet not recognised the catastrophic impact of fish and shrimp stocks' depletion, which could severely hit the country's marine resources in days to come.
Experts persistently demand a complete marine stocks' census as an imperative need to gauge the depleting resources and urge the federal authorities to move into action to check the practice.
Official statistics reveal a bleak scenario that how the sea has brutally been exploited over the decades, resulting a decline in the catch of 60 different types of sharks particularly from 32, 535 tons in 1999 to 5,917 tons in 2009. Similarly, overall catch of demersal fish, inhabiting at the seabed, has dropped to 164,340 tons in 2009 from 312,431 tons in 1999.
Landing of shellfish was estimated at 42,086 metric tons in 1999 that drastically plummeted to 33,655 metric tons in 2009, although fisheries analysts are continuously warning of its complete vanishing. Demersal fish category covers a larger index of marine vertebrates that includes sharks, guitarfish, rays, wolf hearings, Bombay duck, catfish, eel, threadfin, breams, barracudas, mullet, groupers, silver whiting, cobia, queenfish, travellies, snapper, grunts, emperor, sea bream, king soldier bream, ribbonfish, white pomfret, sole, black pomfret, etc, faces the toughest challenge to survive.
On the contrary, arrival of trash seafood has phenomenally increased at fisheries during the same decade. Statistics also depicts how the over fishing of undersized aquatic animals could be fatal in days to come. As, the catch of trash fish and shrimp was below 10,000 metric tons in 1999, which surprisingly skyrocketed to 90,000 during 2003-04 with over 2000 percent increase because the fleet was too large to the sea resources. Whereas, experts warn the disastrous surging trend in landing of trash fish that mounted three time during the last six years, would continues to rise.
Experts continued blowing the whistle on illegal mode of fishing for a good time but the authorities did not bother to weigh such warnings. Now, many believe the existing fleet should not exceed 500 boats, as a sufficient number for the country's reducing marine resources.
Landing of kiddy shrimp has reduced by 2683 metric tons from 12,121 metric tons to 9,438 metric tons. Lobster catch has witnessed a sharp decline from 1,077 metric tons to 511 metric tons in the last decade. Landing of crab has reduced to 4,840 metric tons from 5,109 metric tons and cephalopods from 10,208 metric tons to 5,951 metric tons. These species are largely found at seabed or around the shore in mud or stony areas.
Experts recommend the frequent inspections of fishing boats at deep seas and warnings to boat owners of severe punishments if their vessels found using illegal meshes during trawling. Strict surveys of boats will help the marine stocks to thrive greatly. On the other hand, the authorities expressed their inability to even carry out weeklong boats examinations at seas because such ventures require huge funds, which the provincial fisheries' department has not.