6 Fishery societies signed MoU to promote sustainable fishing

6 fishery societies sign MoU to promote sustainable fishing

Miguel Fernandes, chairman of the Vasco Fisheries Society, Vasco said the government should enforce the 24 mm sized fishing net. Some fishermen he said use thinner nets which trap smaller sardines that are then discarded. “The government should enforce the 24 mm nets and ban the manufacture of the thinner nets,’ he said. Leela Edwin, principal scientist and head of fishing technology division of Central Institute of Fishing Technology said LED fishing has the risk of attracting spawners and very small fish. If the government regulations with regards to LED fishing with regard to distance and intensity of light are followed, the detrimental effects on fisheries can be reduced she said. Panaji: The Indian oil sardine catch has been declining all over the country since 2012 due to several factors including environmental and ecological and overfishing, principal scientist and head of fishing technology division of Central Institute of Fishing Technology Leela Edwin, said.

“Climatic changes like the El Nino effect is one of the reasons for the decline. Another is overfishing and over exploitation of juvenile fish before it reaches maturity age,’ she told presspersons on Thursday.Sardines contribute to 15 percent of the total marine fish production in the country, director of fisheries Shamila Monteiro said, adding that in Goa sardines and mackerels contribute to more than 50 percent of the total fish production. “Two years back we say a very huge production of Indian oil sardine followed by a drastic dip. Last year the catch has again shown a sign of improvement. It is such small sixed pelagic shoaling fish having multiple spawning periods that are easily affected by changes in temperature and other environmental factors,” she said. society Ltd, Zuari Fishermen marketing co-operative society ltd and Cutbona boat owners development society and societies in Ratnagiri, along with a fishmeal producer and aquatic feed manufacturer on Thursday signed an MOU to support a ‘Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP) to promote sustainable fishing along the coast of Goa and Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Duncan Leadbitter an Australia based fisheries consultant and manager of the Fisheries improvement project said it is an alliance of stakeholders who want to make changes to fishery to improve its sustainability. “During the project we will evaluate fisheries and its performance from the sustainability perspective, conduct an analysis and then write a work plan that will be implemented. The aim is to address sustainability issues in fishery and enable the products to have an advantage in the market place,” he said. The MOU also aims at improving efficiency of fisheries management and governance, fostering food safety, environmental responsibility and transparent traceability of fisheries products throughout the supply chain, promoting sustainability in the fisheries products supply chain to meet with international standards. In addition the project will be guided by the international fishmeal and fish oil organization (IFFO) UK which represents fishmeal and fish oil producers around the world.