Gujarat has retained the first position in marine fish landing in the country. Among the fish varieties, mackerel topped the catch list but sardine declined considerably. There was also some good news for Bengalis their favourite fish hilsa recorded a high catch. The county’s marine fish catch registered a slight increase of 6.6% in 2016 compared to the previous year, said the annual report on fish landing prepared by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi. According to CMFRI’s estimate, the total marine fish landings for 2016 was 3.63 million tonnes, with Gujarat remaining at the top for the fourth consecutive year followed by Tamil Nadu. Kerala, with its vast coastline, for the first time dropped out of the top three and ranked fourth behind Karnataka. Mackerel, the national fish, stood first among all the varieties after a long interval with an overall production of 2.50 lakh tonnes ahead of sardine (2.44 lakh tonnes). A huge difference of 32.8 % was recorded in the landing of sardine, known as poor man’s fish that contains good quantity of Omega 3 fatty acid that propels HDL (good cholesterol). A hike in the production of hilsa helped West Bengal increase its marine fish production to 2.72 lakh tonnes. The upsurge in hilsa catch helped the state increase its marine fish production to 2.72 lakh tonnes in 2016 from a 1.18 lakh tonnes in 2015. The catch dropped significantly in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha due to cyclone that reduced fishing days. The estimated value of marine fish landings in 2016 at the landing centre level in the country was ? 48,381 crore, registering an increase of 20.67% compared to 2015. At the retail level, the estimated value was ?73,289 crore with an increase of 12.44%over the previous year. Marine scientists say fisheries sector is experiencing more pressure and there is an urgent need to implement control measures to maintain the harvest at sustainable level. We have to explore the utilisation of untapped and unconventional resources to quench the demand. Further, climate change, particularly the increase of sea surface temperature and mean sea level rise are factors affecting the marine fisheries, CMFRI director Dr A Gopalakrishnan said.