The onset of monsoon marks the days of abundance for the 1.25 lakh traditional fishermen in Kerala. With the flood waters washing a wealth of nutrients to the coastal sea and plankton blooming, schools of fish troop to the coastal sea offering a bumper catch for the traditional fishermen. Traditional fishermen in Kerala have been excluded from the 52-day annual trawl ban. This helps them get a bumper catch. A week into the ban period, however, the coastal hamlets are in deep distress. For the past one week, motorised country crafts have been returning with empty nets and many have stopped venturing into the sea. Blame it on the indiscriminate exploitation of marine stocks or adverse impact of climate change, fish schools have migrated from Kerala’s coastal sea causing concern among the fishing community. There has been a steep decline in the availability of fish in Kerala’s coastal sea. Most of the country crafts had stopped venturing into the sea in February itself. We had been waiting for the arrival of monsoon to resume fishing. But all our dreams were shattered as the boats started returning with empty nets. This is unprecedented and the fishermen families are starving due to the lack of livelihood, said Njarackal Nayarambalam Fishermen Cooperative Society president PG Jayakumar. Usually, 45 to 50 fishermen board the big country craft with inboard engine. The fuel cost for a single fishing expedition exceeds Rs 20,000. The boat should get a catch worth Rs 1 lakh to make it viable. But the boats which ventured into the sea last week got fish worth less than Rs 10,000, said a fisherman at Kalamukku harbour. What’s the reason for the depletion of marine resources? According to Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute Principal Scientist K Sunil Mohamed, the depleting fish stocks are a temporary phenomenon caused by various factors. Cyclone Vayu might have drawn the moisture over Kerala’s coastal sea as it moved to the Gujarat coast. This has left the Kerala waters warm. Fish schools are attracted to the Kerala coast during monsoon due to the blooming of plankton. If we get a good spell of rain, the situation will change. The hot weather in the northern plains can also create favourable conditions, he said.