Mangaluru: When the price of fish goes up in a coastal area that loves fish, one would definitely want to know the reason, which fishermen and retailers here report to what they see as a kind of fish famine at sea. 

Deep sea trawlers return with vessels that are almost empty as they find hardly any catch. This is indeed a huge loss for the fishermen who spend on diesel and other fishing costs, with the amount often going up to lakhs. 

As a result of this, trawlers now avoid taking their boats too far and choose to stay at the port, till they receive any word of mouth regarding a good catch. 

However, there has been no good news for quite some time, as a result of which fish prices are shooting up by 20 to 30 percent. Mackerel, which is a common favorite, has gone up from Rs 200 to Rs 250 per kilo. And it ;looks like this is what the situation is going to be for the next ten days or so. 

The Karnataka Fisheries Corporation Development, which is known for running some of the most hygienic restaurants and retail outlets, describes the situation as similar to the chicken and egg. 

Amidst all this bad news the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institution has a word of consolation for us, with a scientist explaining that this is just another cyclical annual phenomenon, where we are in the season that often sees a decline in catch. 

Fish, which are abundant at sea from the months of October to December, soon begin to decline from the month of January. The situation will further spiral downwards in April, as Sujitha Thomas, principal scientist of the CMFRI suggests. 

That said, one should not have any cause for worry as the situation is quite normal, though a little acute this year, as a result of all the climatic variability. 

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