PANAJI
The catch of mackerels (bangdo), a Goan favourite, has steadily declined over the last three years, from 55,843 tonnes in 2022–23 to 50,213 tonnes in 2023–24 and further down to just 43,728 tonnes in 2024–25.
As per figures provided by the Fisheries Department in the Legislative Assembly, not only mackerels but there was also a sharp dip in the catch of other fish varieties like catfish (sangot), sharks (mori), pomfrets (paplet) and crabs (kurlio) and others in the last financial year (2024–25).
Catfish dropped to 125 tonnes from 178 tonnes the previous year, while shark catch nearly halved from 442 tonnes in 2023–24 to 223 tonnes in 2024–25. Pomfrets too declined to 496 tonnes after showing a rise of 594 tonnes the year before. Crabs saw a marginal dip to 1,455 tonnes after peaking at 1,620 tonnes in 2023–24.
On the other hand, the data shows a significant rise in the catch of prawns (sungtam), which increased to 10,071 tonnes in 2024–25 – the highest in the last three years. A total of 6,810 tonnes and 6,549 tonnes of prawns were registered with the Fisheries Department in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.
Seer fish (viswan) more than doubled to 2,797 tonnes last financial year as against 1,796 tonnes and 1,594 tonnes in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively, and the popular oil sardines (tarle) rose from 18,022 to 20,705 tonnes.
Other species such as cuttlefish (manki), tunas, ribbon fish and soles (lepo) also saw fluctuations, while overall marine fish production for 2024–25 was recorded at 1,28,378 tonnes — higher than 1,26,990 tonnes in the previous year but still below the 2022–23 total of 1,33,970 tonnes.
Inland fish production showed a marginal increase, with the total output touching 9,065 tonnes, up from 8,859 tonnes the previous year. Inland prawns, mullets (shevto), and anchovy saw steady or increased catch volumes, while species like black water clams (kubye) and oysters (kalwam) declined.
Replying to Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao’s unstarred question, Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar said the department does not have data on the quantity of fish imported daily from other states. However, Goa exported marine products to other countries through the Marine Products Export Development Authority, though the export data may include fish imported from other states for export to other countries.
The government also informed the House that it has identified 125 shellfish breeding zones across Goa in consultation with local fishermen.