Not only is the mackerel size getting smaller but trawlers are catching mackerel with eggs which means there is no chance for them to reproduce. Rejuvenation of fish is not happening as trawlers fish even during the breeding season.”

In the southern states, large quantities of juveniles fishes are being caught and discarded since they have no commercial value. The economic loss of the juvenile fish by a single trawler in Kerala coast has been estimated at `28 lakhs.