Kollam: The size of pearl spot fish (Karimeen) and crabs in Ashtamudi lake has reduced to one third from its earlier size. The average length of a pearl spot fish here was 30 centimetres ten years ago. But, a census carried out in March 2022 suggests that the average length of the same kind of fish has decreased to 20 centimetres. The average weight of a crab caught from the lake also reduced from 1 kilogram to 500-700 gram. 

The new data surfaced in the survey conducted jointly by the aquatic biology department of Kerala University and Fisheries Department. The fish caught during the sample fishing were only 20 centimetres in length on an average. The fisherfolk also asserted that the size of the fish have been reduced considerably here. The head of the aquatic biology department Dr K Bijukumar said the reports indicate overexploitation of fish resources in the lake. 

The team has found that prohibited varieties of fishing nets like small mesh size nets are used for fishing at Ashtamudi lake.