Climatic changes have affected the distribution of fish population in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, marine fish expert Dr Vivekananda has said.

He opined that the sardine and mackarel fish varieties, which were aplenty in Karnataka and Kerala coasts, have now moved towards Gujarat and Pakistan coasts.

Vivekananda, who is participating in the 10-day training workshop on open sea cage culture of marine finfish and shellfish, organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) at the District Science Centre, said increase in temperature and change in wind directions have affected the fish distribution. Other varieties of fish too may migrate to other places, he opined.

The population of the poisonous fish, Puffer, which was rare earlier, has been growing at a fast pace in the region. Change in climatic conditions has affected the reproduction mechanism of many fish varieties, he stated.

Damage to coral reefs

Coral reefs at many places have been damaged due to increase in sea temperature. They are at the stage of bleeching and this will affect the fish population, as coral reefs support marine life, including many species of mammals. Increase in temperature by another one degree Celsius will prove catastrophic to the coral reefs, he added.