The coastal areas of Kochi have witnessed a rare phenomenon of sardine surge, Kerala’s popular fish, facilitating scientists to keep a close watch.

Residents of Fort Kochi and Vypin areas reported flooding of oil sardines at the sea mouth, prompting people to pick up the fish with their bare hands.

ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said the presence of oil sardines has been noticed in the Kochi backwaters for the past week. A sudden surge of leaping sardines was observed in the shipping channel between Fort Kochi and Vypin on Monday.

Prelimiinary observation

CMFRI collected the samples soon after the surge was reported. The preliminary observations suggested that the fish are healthy and in good condition.

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Further studies have shown that the fish were in a well-fed condition and were not under any stress. Detailed diet analysis shows that they have gorged on blooms of phytoplankton, predominantly diatoms (Skeletonema costatum, which forms almost 90 per cent).

“Due to favourable conditions, sardines were generally observed close to shore. The high tide rush of sea water might have forced the sardine shoal into the backwater. During low tide, they aggregated in the deeper shipping channel, and the sudden disruption in the shoal movement by speeding boats might be the reason behind the visuals of fish leaping in the area,” said EM Abdussamad, Principal Scientist, CMFRI.

Unlike previous years, Indian oil sardines are seen aplenty on the Kerala coast this year. For the last few years, there has been a sharp decline in oil sardines along the coast. The catch of Kerala’s popular fish was drastically decreased to a meagre 3,297 tonnes in 2021 in the State. This was the lowest catch of fish since 1994 in the State.

However, according to the CMFRI, sardines are increasingly coming back to the coast, and this surge also shows a healthy stock of the fish and its environment.

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