In Tamil Nadu's (TN) Pudukottai district on India's east coastline, the rivalry between traditional fishermen and owners of mechanized trawlers is growing. The culprit is the push nets that trawlers use, scraping the bottom of the sea. Besides juvenile fish it nets a whole range of life forms found on the seabed, including seaweeds. Precious fish breeding habitat is destroyed and diminishing the catch size. The push nets that the traditional boatmen use are "mini trawls".

Yet, across Pudukottai's 32 fishing villages, they have decided to stop its use, thanks to FAO's co-management process through its Fisheries Management for Sustainable Livelihoods (FIMSUL) project. By agreeing to save the marine ecosystem in the shallow Palk Bay waters, they will be safeguarding the source of their future sustenance.

Disappearing species

In Pudukottai's coastal village of Muthukuda Karmegan, 47, speaks passionately against push nets: "This (push net) is harmful ... takes away young fish. Over 20 species of fish have already disappeared". Karmegan says he knew of the harm all along but was fully convinced after attending outreach meetings with FIMSUL. Chinniaiyah, 52 is another fisherman who also heads the Pudukottai district fishermen's union. He says, "We have to safeguard the sea for the next generation...But we also have to earn our livelihood.....The government should compensate us." Panchavarnam, another fisherman from the same village, who has attended several of FAO's co-management meetings, says, "We now realize what we are losing... we have to look at alternate sources of livelihood." He says fishing has already become unsustainable.

In nearby R-Pudupattinam village the shoreline is littered with mounds of 'waste' from the sea - dead shells, starfish, sponges, sea urchins, coral, and seaweed - a testimony to the damage done by push nets. An old fisherman sums it all, "They have destroyed the entire sea." Nearby, at a crab-processing unit T.A Kannan a young fisherman complains, "They should ban the push net...It is destroying our crab nets." Chinnaiyah, doubling as our guide in the sultry shore, recalls how Fishmarc, the NGO partner, had formed a 10 member committee of traditional boatmen and another ten member team of trawler owners to discuss sustainable fishing. "It took us several discussions before convincing the traditional fishermen," he says.

The trawler owners say they have invested large sums of money. The committee's recommendation asking for a ban is awaiting the fisheries department nod. Once it comes into force, trawlers will have fall in line. If Pudukottai follows the ban, other coastal districts cannot stay behind for long. Others too may follow the TN example and the fish population along India's coastline stands a chance of regeneration.

Berried lobsters in the net

A few hundred kilometers further south, in Kanyakumari the problem is the same - species depletion. Lobsters, once found in abundance here, was overexploited. It fetches as much as $25 a kilo, and is mostly exported. From an annual average of 150 tons the catch has dropped to a mere ten tons. Juvenile and berried lobsters, a single 'fish' holding as many as a 100 thousand eggs, on their way to the deep sea for spawning, are being trapped by trawler nets, as also by the smaller boats.

The drop in catch is clear. In village Keelamannakudi, Susai Nayakam is just back from retrieving his net after 48 hours. All he has got is eight lobsters weighing around 1.5 kilos. At current prices he will get around $50 to be shared among five. After deducting costs his average income is just $5. Yet traditional fishermen like Nayakam have agreed in principle to return berried lobsters and juveniles to the sea, thanks to FIMSUL's outreach efforts. They have also agreed to increase the net size so that juvenile lobsters are not caught. Returning berried lobsters to sea means losing good money as they weigh more.

For implementing partner KDFSF networking with 48 fishing villages across the district and convincing them was not easy. For now the co-management council has sent its recommendations asking district authorities to enforce a ban. If that happens, lobsters will get a new lease of life. For the fishermen of Kanyakumari it will mean improved catch and income.

Published: 2016
Project: Support to implement the strategy for Fisheries Management for Sustainable Livelihoods.