Indian oil sardine seemingly on revival path along Kerala coast: CMFRI

As reported here earlier in August, Indian oil sardine, which was showing a declining trend for the past few years, appears to be on a revival path along the Kerala coast, state-run Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said. Scattered batches of immature sardines have been reported from the southern coast of the state because of a seemingly favourable condition in the marine ecosystem. For the last five years, there has been a sharp decline of oil sardine along the Kerala coast. El Niño Southern Oscillation causes a rise in sea-surface temperature and triggers changes in the ocean’s vertical, thermal structure, particularly in coastal regions, and the warming of sea water has been a major reason for the decline in the sardine population. However, the CMFRI cautioned against extensive catching of these stocks as it may badly affect the expected revival. Upon assessing the sexual maturity, a team of researchers of the CMFRI has found that these sardines having a size ...