Author(s): Sinitha Xavier

Abstract: The study has found that there is proliferation in the number of trawlers operating in Kerala in all maritime districts except Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha. The growth rate is the highest (4.24 %) in Kollam, followed by Ernakulam (2.42%) and Kozhikode (1.64%). The all Kerala compound annual growth rate is 8.91 per cent (1980 – 2009). The result of the Fox model revealed that the estimated catch at maximum economic yield (MEY) is 1.95 lakh tones and the effort needed to catch the MEY is only 31.56 lakh hours. With the average 199 days of fishing trips, the actual fishing effort is 63.7 lakh hours. The actual fishing effort is found to be more than double the effort needed to attain the MEY. This finding of the Fox model concludes that with the present fleet size of trawlers, the trawler fishery is operating not at economically optimum or economically sustainable level.

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