The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is committed to preserving the marine wealth of the State for coming generations and to ensuring the social and economic progress of the marginalised fishermen community, Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma has said. In a message on the occasion of World Fisheries Day on November 21, the Minister said the government views with seriousness the task of bringing good quality fish to the common man. Steps have been taken to check distribution of fish containing chemicals harmful to humans. The government is also implementing schemes designed to set up housing units for fisherfolk, to raise their living standards and to empower women in the community. Efforts are on to mitigate the problems faced by fishermen in connection with the Coastal Regulation Zone(CRZ) rules. For this an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project is to be prepared and sent to the Centre for its approval. Major contributor The fishing sector provides livelihood to 11.5 lakh people in Kerala, which has 222 coastal fishing villages and 113 inland villages. The sector assumes great importance given its role in ensuring food security and foreign exchange earnings. The total fish production of the State in 2015 is 7.28 lakh metric tonnes. Kerala exports fish worth Rs.5,200 crore a year. This is about 15 per cent of India’s fish exports. Close to 1.4 per cent of Kerala’s GDP comes from the fisheries sector. Produce from the sea is the most important segment of the fisheries sector. However, production from this sector is coming down by the day. As per the data with the fisheries department the total fish production from sea was 5.6 lakh tonnes in 2010-11. In 2015-16 this fell to 5.17 lakh tonnes. Excessive and unscientific fishing, intrusion of foreign fishing vessels, climate change, water pollution and destruction of mangroves héave been pointed out as reasons for this decline.
2016, The Hindu