The tuna live bait scarcity problem in Lakshadweep and the options for solving it

Abstract

The principal methods of catching skipjack tuna, skipjack tuna throughout the world is the pole and line fishing using live bait. The lack of adequate supplies of live bait is a major bottleneck for the development of pole and line tuna fisheries in Lakshadweep which is the only place in India where pole and line fishing is practised for catching tuna. The results of the recent live bait resource surveys at Lakshadweep indicated that year to year fluctuations in the availability and abundance of live baits is a natural phenomenon which is caused mainly by the variability in the recruitment of the various species into the lagoon environment. The fishermen of different islands other than Minicoy need training for the rational exploitation of live bait fishes other than the currently fished S. delicatulus. Intensive culture of suitable live bait fish is another option for solving the bait fish scarcity