PANAJI
Highest catch ever of tuna was recorded last year. The catch that picked up in 2007 has since been fluctuating in the range of 1,000 to 3,000 tonnes. According to the fisheries department’s provisional figures for 2016, marine fish catch for tuna was 7,857 tonnes.
Additionally, the five year average marine fish catch for the last 15 years has proved the change in tuna’s popularity. The average production for the year 2011- 2015 was 3,041 tonnes, for 2006-2010 was at 1,634 tonnes, but the highest registered was for the year 2001-2015 at 1,035 tonnes.
Speaking to The Goan, fisheries department director Shamila Monteiro said, as part of the blue revolution, several schemes were introduced in the state but isn’t popular.
“Under the government’s blue revolution plans, there were several schemes that were introduced that would give fishermen up to 50 percent subsidies for long line and gill netting methods. But fishermen do not avail of the scheme,” she said.
The numbers that do reflect in the official figure however are the ones getting caught in purse seines. Usually, tuna are caught on line hooks. Those caught on line hooks weigh between 15 and 20 kilograms. Those that get caught in purse seines, however, are between the 1to 5 kilograms.
“The bigger tuna fish are usually found in deep sea waters that require expensive equipments (line hooks) that fishermen are not willing to invest in. The fish we do catch are the ones that we get when we do purse seine fishing,” said Sitakant Parab, president of the All Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association. He added that in
BIG CATCH
7,857 tonnes in 2016
KERALA BUYS
Huge demand for tuna in the southern state
GOA DISLIKES
Only one pc of tuna is actually sold here
CANNING
DELIGHT
Most of the catch sent to canning and
processing factories
