Possibilities and Concerns

regarding Fisheries Co-Management

in India

Dr. M.R. Boopendranath

Principal Scientist
Fishing Technology Division
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology
P.O. Matsyapuri, Cochin-
Cochin-682 029, India

E-mail: boopendranath@hotmail.com
 1.0 Major technological changes in the
capture fisheries of India
• Introduction and popularization of synthetic fishing
gear materials.
• Introduction of trawling in mid-1950s
• Expansion in mechanized fleet in terms of numbers,
size, installed horsepower and capacities
• Improvement in efficiency and diversification of
trawls, purse seines, gillnets and lines, for
mechanized sector.
• Expansion of fishing grounds for harvesting deep
sea fishing for deeps sea prawns, lobsters and
cephalopods.
• Adoption of modern technologies such as
echosounder and GPS
• Chartering and joint venture schemes.
1.1 Major technological changes in the capture
fisheries of India..2

• Motorization of traditional fishing crafts and

expansion in fishing grounds
• Improvement of traditional fishing units, in terms of
craft modernization, gear materials, gear efficiency
and dimensions.
• Introduction of ring seines in mid-1980s and
rapid expansion of ring seine units in terms of size
of crafts, horsepower of OBM, craft materials,
increase in overall dimensions of the ring
seines and mechanized purse line hauling.
1.2 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

Major fishing systems became more efficient

though introduction of new materials, improved
designs and better gear and catch handling and
improved capacities.
Present development focus:
Selective fishing gear and practices
Environment- friendly fishing gears
Energy conservation in harvesting
Enhancement of resources
1.3 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

Coracle

- 64%

- 34%
Large stern trawler

One-man canoe
1.4 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

- 64%

- 34%

A typical beach landing scene

1.5 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

- 64%

- 34%

A ring seine vessel surveying for shoals

1.6 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

- 64%

- 34%

Ring seine landings

1.7 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

- 64%

- 34%

A mini-trawler in operation
1.8 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

47%

- 64%

- 34%

Steel and wooden trawlers

1.9 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

Catch of trawlers
1.10 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

A commercial Purse Seiner, operating off Cochin

1.11 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

Catch of carangids caught by purse seine, off Cochin

1.12 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

Catch of tuna caught by purse seine, off Cochin

 1.13 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

A view of 40 tonne catch of threadfin bream (Nemipterus japonicus) obtained

by demersal trawling by a 110 m LOA Factory Trawler (inset),
off west coast of India
 1.14 Major technological changes in the capture fisheries

A view of 22 tonne catch of horse mackerel (Megalaspis cordyla)

obtained by midwater trawling, off north-west coast of India
 2.0 Status of marine fishery resources
Capture fisheries in India in general and
Gujarat in particular has been progressing
in a haphazard way, with insufficient
management and control, which has been
leading to rapid transition to
overexploitation.
The substantial increase in fishing effort
has resulted in the decrease in per capita
area per active fishermen and per boat in
the shelf fishing grounds and also in the
CPUE.
 2.1 Status of marine fishery resources

Problems of juvenile finfish mortality and

bycatch discards increased with the
47%
intensification of shrimp trawling and small-
meshed gillnetting.
The proliferation of mechanized and
motorized fleet increased the catch but had
a negative impact leading to growth
- 34%
overfishing, economic overfishing and
ecosystem overfishing.
 2.2 Status of marine fishery resources

A recent analysis of time series data of marine landings

has shown that ‘the fishing down marine food webs’ is
visible in all maritime states including Gujarat. The study
has shown that fishing down ecosystem effect is visible
in Gujarat from 1961 onwards with a decline of 3.25MTL
from TL=4.2 to TL=4.0 at the rate of 0.008 TL per year
(Bhathal (2005).
The study also substantiated that strong geographical
expansion of fishing effort to previously unexploited
areas has taken place in Gujarat, from 1990 onwards.
There is an immediate need to curb existing
overcapacity and redistribute the remaining effort across
the trophic levels from large predators to small prey
fishes as suggested for other parts of the world (Pauly et
al., 1998; 2002).
 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000

10998
Mechanised trawlers 2.7x
29241
784
Mechanised purse seiners 983
1.3x

3694 3.8x
Mechanised gill netters 14183 Optimum fleet size (Kurup and
2014
Devaraj, 2000)
Mechanised bag netters 4.4x
8862 Present fleet size (CMFRI, 2005)
1558
Other mechanised boats 5642
3.6x

19048 3.1x
Total mechanised boats 58911
14862 5.1x
Total motorised boats 75591

Excess fishing capacity – India

"All the great sea-fisheries are
inexhaustible."
- Thomas Huxley (1883), during the International Fisheries
Exhibition in London

“There will be virtually nothing left to

fish from the seas by the middle of
the century, if current trends
continue”
- Conclusion of Worm et al (2006), Science 314: 787-790
 3.0 Excess fishing capacity

Fishing capacity is the ability of a stock of inputs (capital)

used in fisheries to produce output, measured as either
effort (or indicators of effort) or catch (FAO, 2001).
47%
Overcapacity (or excess capacity) is the capacity in
excess of the (desired) stock of inputs that will produce a
desired level of outputs (e.g., a set of target fishing
mortality rates for the species being harvested) and will
- 64%
best achieve the objectives of a fishery management plan.
Excessive fishing capacity leads to overfishing and affects
long term sustainability of resources, biodiversity and
- 34%
environment and economic viability of fishing operations.
 3.1 Excess fishing capacity
The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
(CCRF) (FAO, 1995) recommends that "States should
prevent overfishing and excess fishing capacity and
should implement management measures to ensure that
47%
fishing effort is commensurate with the productive capacity
of the fishery resources and their sustainable utilization"
(Article 6.3).
The International Plan of Action for the Management of
- 64%
Fishing Capacity (IPOA) was elaborated within the
framework of the Code of Conduct with the objective of
attaining an efficient, equitable and transparent
management of fishing capacity for fisheries conservation
- 34%
and sustainable management (FAO, 1999).
 3.2 Excess fishing capacity

CCRF advocates that nations and regional fishery

organizations, in the framework of their respective
competencies and consistent with international law, to
achieve worldwide, equitable and transparent
management of fishing capacity (FAO, 1995).
The actions in this direction include assessment and
monitoring of fishing capacity, the preparation and
implementation of national, regional and international
plans of action (FAO, 1999).
The excess fishing capacity stems essentially from the
widespread tendency towards overcapitalization and
overfishing under free and open-access conditions.
Excess harvesting capacity may take the form of any
combination of people, fishing gear, fishing vessels and
variations in their capacities and efficiencies.
 3.3 Excess fishing capacity

Excess capacity is assessed by comparing the existing

capacity to an optimal or desired level, using various
reference points such as maximum sustainable yield
(MSY) and maximum economic yield (MEY). 47%

Excess fishing capacity is estimated by a variety of

techniques of differing sophistication and data
requirements (FAO, 1998; 1999a; 2000; 2001), such as:
- 64%
– Bioeconomic analysis,
– Schocastic production frontier analysis,
– Fishing power analysis,
- 34%
– Data envelopment analysis and
– Peak to peak analysis
 4.0 Approaches to fishing effort management

The growth of fishing capacity is controlled either

by limiting the use of 'inputs' (limited entry
schemes, fishing holidays) or by placing a limit
on 'output' such as an upper limit on the volume
of landings.
Directly limiting fishing inputs may facilitate the
tendency to expand capacity by improving the
elements of fishing effort that have not been
restricted. Hence technical developments that
effectively increase fishing effort must be - 34%
compensated by appropriate adjustments made
to the restrictions imposed on the fishery.
 4.0 Approaches to fishing effort management
A consensus is emerging in favour of using individual
transferable quotas (ITQs) management to control fishing
capacity, particularly in developed countries. This system
of capacity regulation generally limits the number of fishing
units and allocate a share of the total allowable catch
(TAC) to each unit and allows the sale or lease of the right
to quotas.
Making these rights transferable increases the possibility of
efficient use of fisheries inputs, reducing fishing capacity to
a level that accords with the quantity of fish available for
harvesting.
However, not all fisheries are amenable to quota
management, either for social and cultural reasons or
because of the multi-species nature of the fishery, for
which complex schemes are usually needed to offset the
increased incentive to discard bycatch.
 4.1 Approaches to fishing effort management

A rights-based regulated access system based on

a strong inclusive cooperative movement of
stakeholders with built-in transferable quota
system and buy-back or rotational right of47% entry
schemes for capacity management and
optimization in the shelf fisheries, under a co-
management regime, in collaboration with - 64%
the
Union Government and the neighbouring states
with confluent ecosystems and shared fishing
grounds, seems to hold potential for capacity
- 34%
management in the shelf fisheries of Indian states.
 4.2 Approaches to fishing effort management
Major focus need to be given for the sustainability shelf
resources, as more than 95% of the landings are derived
from this zone of maximum productivity.
Restoration and enhancement of fishery resources need
to be ensured in shelf waters by all possible resource
conservation and enhancement strategies such as area
closures, seasonal closures (fishing holidays), mesh
regulation, minimum landing size, ban on destructive
fishing practices, restructuring and diversification of
fishing effort to underexploited areas and resources,
ranching and restoration of non-productive fishing
grounds, in addition to the removal of excess capacity
from the fishing fleet (buyback schemes), rights based
access control and responsible fishing practices.
Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and fishing logs need
to be made mandatory for large vessels (>20 m LOA)
and newly inducted resource-specific deep sea fleets, to
forestall tendency for zonal transgressions.
 4.3 Approaches to fishing effort management

Since a large number of people depend on fisheries,

implementation of any of the measures demands
thorough evaluation of social as well as economic factors
and incorporation of possible trade-offs among social,
economic and ecological objectives of management.
Fishing effort management is not possible in isolation, in
the state of Gujarat alone, as the fishing grounds and
accessible fishery resources extends far beyond the
jurisdiction of the state (12 nautical mile from the coast
line) and hence need to be region based and
harmonized among the maritime states sharing the- same
34%

resources and fishing areas.

4.4 Approaches to fishing effort management
4.5 Approaches to fishing effort management

- 34%
Pointers from CCRF and IPOA for sustainable fisheries development

Evolve regionalized consensus Code of Conduct

for Responsible Fishing, in close participation with
all stake holders, within a co-management regime

Traditional, motorized and mechanized fishermen

organizations sharing the same fishing ground and
resources
Fisheries research organizations
Fisheries managers
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Take measures to facilitate transition from free

and open access regime to rights based controlled
access co-management regime, with strict
enforcement of a system of licenses (authorization
to fish) in traditional, motorized and mechanized
sectors and promoting cooperative movement
among stakeholders.
Periodically revalidate maximum sustainable yield
of resources in the existing fishing grounds and
determine fishing units and their capacities in each
category and fishing zones for sustainable
harvesting of resources.
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Address the question of excess capacity squarely and take

steps to remove excess capacity over a time schedule.
Standardize fishing systems operating in different sectors
and prevent unauthorized technological changes affecting
capacities and fishing power.
Conduct periodic audit of craft-gear combinations operating
on the fishery in terms economics of operation, energy
consumption (Gross Energy Requirement), selectivity,
ecological and environmental impacts and promote the use
of those systems which minimizes cost of fish production,
energy use, ecological and environmental impacts, by
effective management strategies.
Identify and delimit Protected Areas in marine and inland
water ecosystems.
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Evolve a system for marking fishing vessels and

fishing gear (both traditional & mechanized).
Standardise the capacities, dimensions and
specifications of fishing units in each category.
Maintain registry of all fishing vessels operating in
waters under State jurisdiction with all essential
details
Evolve regulations for mandatory survey of
mechanized fishing vessels and fishing gears.
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Promote selective fishing gear and

practices
Optimum mesh size in trawl codends
Optimum hook size and shape for lines
Square mesh windows in trawls
Bycatch reduction devices in trawls
Turtle Excluder Devices in trawls
Juvenile Excluder Devices in trawls
Trawl designs with improved resource specificity
Optimum mesh size for gill nets
Optimum mesh size for purse seines
Escape windows in fish and lobster traps
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Evolve an efficient monitoring, control and

surveillance (MCS) system.
Effectively use Geographical Information
System for fisheries management;
monitoring and control of fishing effort and
energy use.
Develop a dynamic Fisheries Information
Portal providing easy access to authentic
information and facilitate fisheries research,
management and business
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Evolve and promote a package of practices

for energy conservation in fish harvesting
Low energy fishing techniques
Low drag trawls
Pair trawling
Economic vessel speed
Hull design and displacement optimisation
Anti-fouling measures
Choice of engines
Right sizing of engines
Emission standards
Preventive maintenance of engines
Reduction gear, propeller size and propeller nozzle
Sail-assisted propulsion
Use of advanced technology (Echosounder, GPS, PFZ information, GIS)
Fleet management
 Pointers from CCRF for sustainable fisheries development

Evolve a mandatory programme of training

and certification for non-motorised,
motorised and mechanised fishermen in:
Safe navigation
Responsible fishing
Log keeping and reporting
Thank You