The Western Bay of Bengal (WBoB) trawl fishery is typically a tropical multispecies mixed fishery with a history of commercial exploitation since early 1960s. The nature of fishing changed dramatically with the introduction of trawlers. In the last 50 years, trawlers have become immensely popular and have emerged as the most important fishing craft in the region. The trawl fishery extends from 8oN (off Kanyakumari on the south) to 22oN (off Sunderbans in the north), accessing fishing grounds between 10 m and 150 m depth, but often restricted to a maximum depth of about 70 m. Thus trawling by Indian fishermen has remained exclusively a coastal activity and deep-­‐sea trawling is occasional. The main gear is the bottom otter trawl, with two variants, namely the shrimp trawl and fish trawl. The difference between the two variants is that the shrimp trawl scrapes through the bottom with more sinkers, and the fish trawl is hauled slightly off bottom with more floats. The fishery is complex with operation from craft varying in length and efficiency. All trawlers are mechanized, with the engine placed inboard. Being multispecies, the fishery exploits species that widely vary in their life history traits and habitats. Approximately 800 species of elasmobranchs, teleosts, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms are taken by the trawls, and at least 300 species contribute to the fishery.