Even as the state has been religiously following trawling ban for the last 25 years, it has paid two hoots to Marine Fisheries Regulation Act which if abided can increase not only production, but also unit value and export potential.
One of the major rules flouted both by traditional and modern fishers is the mesh size of trawl nets. While the Act stipulates the cod-end mesh size of nets as 40 mm, nets the fishers in the state use range from 10 mm to 40 mm by which many juveniles are captured.
A study conducted by scientists of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) shows that Gujarat is the only state which has stipulated 40 mm square mesh codend for trawls. The use of legal mesh size would pave the way for certification of the fisheries as sustainable, a requirement which is being increasingly demanded by importers, said Sunil Mohamed, head, Molluscs Fisheries, CMFRI who was part of study team. The percentage of juveniles exploited by trawl can be as high as 20 to 60 in the case
of seerfish and groupers and as much as 12 per cent in the case of squids, he said. Such meshes are largely responsible for the depletion of stocks, affecting both the fishers and the seafood export industry as the majority of the depleted and collapsed stocks are mainly caught in trawls.
Strict implementation of the legal cod-end mesh sizes in trawls would help in preventing growth overfishing and restoration of stocks. Though small and short-lived species could recover fast, it may not be so in large and long-lived species. It is nearly 20 years since catfish has become depleted and collapsed, he said. Likewise the whitefish and silver pomfret.
Trawl fishers fear the juveniles will be lost to migration but unlike the pelagic fish, demersal fish stocks undertake only limited migrations. Another wrong notion is that larger codend meshes are not economically viable.
This study has very clearly brought out that the monetary loss that the Gujarat trawl fishers suffered due to use of legal 40 mm square mesh codend was insignificant. The loss in terms of value of escaped catch was only 1.3 per cent on account of using legal 40 mm square mesh codend. The study has also shown the unit value of the catch increased with the use of 40 mm square mesh codend, he said.
The study concludes that a gradual introduction of restrictions and participation by fishers in the decision-making process will increase compliance.
Moreover,stakeholders should be consulted while framing rules.
When asked about the issue, Fisheries Minister K Babu said the regulations will be made more stringent. Amendment of the Act is also on the cards, he said.
Comments
0 comment