Global warming will drive out oil sardines off Kerala coast: study

 
What has global warming got to do with Malayalis' favorite seafood, oil sardines(Chaala or Mathi)? Simple. It will drive out oil sardines off the Kerala coast and drastically reduce the fish's availability in the State. Not immediately, of course, but gradually over the next few decades. Not oil sardines alone, but other pelagic fishes such as mackerel and tuna too. Fisheries scientists point out that as the seawater temperature goes up because of global warming, the temperature-sensitive pelagic fishes move to cooler waters. According to N.G.K.Pillai, Head, Division of Pelagic fisheries at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here, higher temperature drastically alters the spawning and distribution of pelagic fish, especially of oil sardines. When the temperature in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast goes up, sardines move up north to the coast off Maharastra and Gujarat. The migration of sardines has already been noticed by scientists and the fisherfolk, Dr.Pillai, who was part of a CMFRI study on 'Vulnerability of Indian Marine Fisheries to Change', says. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose fourth assessment report was out recently, has warned that global warming will affect the spread and abundance fishes. Rise in seawater temperaure, salinity, sea level and increased acidity are some of the impacts of global warming on the marine environment, which trigger migration of huge populations of mobile fish species. Increase in seawater temperature will also kill off organisms like planktons, on which fishes feed.


(The Hindu,12th  June  2007)