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IFP Souvenir 2007

he State of Kerala situated in the South West partof peninsular India, has a slender stretch of landwith a long surf beaten coast on the western sideand a lush green mountain range on the eastern

side. The State has a geographical area of 38863 sq. km.The comparatively narrow continental shelf sprawls overan area of 39139 sq.km. Kerala being a maritime State hastremendous potential resources teeming with fish. The inlandfishing is also a time old practice in the extensive networkof backwaters and also in the westerly flowing rivers. Keralafisheries, developed over the years stand great scope forfurther expansion by way of more rational and fullerutilization of the resources.Resource Analysis

The State of Kerala is abundantly rich with marine,brackish water and fresh water resources. These waterbodies are inhabited by a wide variety of aquatic fauna &flora and the State occupies one of the foremost positionsin the aquatic biodiversity. The long coastline and theextensive inland waters of the State have brought peoplebelonging to different ethnic groups in contact with fishing.Marine

The coast of Kerala constitutes approximately 10 percentof India’s total coastline. This coastline of 590 km and theExclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends up to 200 nauticalmiles far beyond the continental shelf, which covers an areaof 218536 sq km provide opportunities in traditional fishingin inshore waters from ages. The continental shelf area is39139 sq.km, the area within the 18m depth range accounts

T

An Over View ofKerala Fisheries -

withParticular Emphasis

on AquacultureG.Harikumar* & G.Rajendran**

Much to be donefor over all

development andwell being of the

fisheries sector inthe State. The

declining fisherieswealth has to be

recouped.

* Director of Fisheries, ** Depty. Director of Fisheries (Inland), Kerala

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IFP Souvenir 2007

for 5000 sq.km, the area between 18-73m isapproximately 25000 sq.km and 73-182 is thebalance area.

The profile of the shelf is with uniform gradientup to 80m depth and thereafter the slope appearsmore. The south-west coastal region has certainunique features that influence the fisheryfluctuations of the important commercial speciesto a great extent. The area is subjected to twomonsoons viz. the south-west monsoon and thenorth-east monsoon. The south-west monsooncoincides with the period ofupwelling and phytoplanktonbloom, which results in a largenumber of fish and crustaceansin the area. However,maximum utilization is only in50m depth i.e., around 22 kmfrom the coastline.Inland

Geographically, inlandfisheries have great scope in theState. An inimitable feature ofthe State is the occurrence of 49interconnected backwaters(Kayals) which have an area of46129 ha. The total brackishwater resources of the State isestimated as 1, 43,696 ha.

The State is endowed witha total area of about 2, 26,274ha of fresh water resourcesconsisting of rivers, fresh waterlakes, reservoirs, minorirrigation tanks, ponds etc. Of these about 1,30,000ha area is ideally suited for fresh water fish culture.Brackish Water Resources

In Kerala the total brackish water resourcescovers a total area of about 1,43,696 ha, whichincludes the lower reaches of rivers, the brackishwater lakes, the backwaters and the adjacent lowlying fields & prawn filtration fields, mangroveswamps etc.

It was estimated that Kerala had a total area ofabout 65000 ha of brackish water area available

for effective use of brackish water aquaculture.Fresh Water Resources

The State is endowed with 44 rivers,innumerable irrigation tanks, reservoirs, streams &waterfalls, private & public ponds, quarry pondsand water-logged paddy fields. Besides these, 9fresh water lakes are available, from which thedrinking water supply of the State are met with.The Highland area of the State has the specialityof cold-water resource. The rivers have an area of

about 0.85 lakh ha of which 41 are westerly flowing& 3 are easterly flowing. The Total area of the 53reservoirs comes to around 0.43 lakh ha.Fish ResourcesMarine

Marine waters offer a very lucrative fishery. South– west monsoon coupled with northwesterly windsand the oceanic currents cause upwelling along thecoast which brings the nutrient rich deep waters tothe surface, with flourishing primary productionand followed by a good fishery. Kerala coast has

Table -1

FRESH WATER RESOURCES OF KERALASl. Type Number AreaNo.1. Rivers 44 850002. Reservoirs 53 428903. Irrigation tanks 852 28354. Check dams 80 2605. Private ponds 35763 219856. Quarry ponds 870 3417. Panchayat ponds 6848 14878. Holy ponds 2689 4809. Village ponds & Other water holds 185 49610. Fresh water lakes 9 162011. Bunds/Barrier/Anicut/Shutter 70 880

Water holds12. Puncha/kole lands 0 68000

Total 226274

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IFP Souvenir 2007

major fisheries of the shrimps, cuttle fish, sardines,mackerels, anchovies, soles, sharks, rays etc. Onan average 6.02 lakh tones of marine fish isproduced annually by the Sate, which accounts forabout 25 per cent of the Country’s total marine fishproduction. Marine fish production in Kerala from2001-02 to 2005-06 is given in Table 2.

The mechanized sector plays an important rolein the fishery contributing to about 66 percentfollowed by the motorized sector contributing 27per cent and the artisan sector contributing 7 percent. The overall contribution of pelagic fin fishesconstitute 56 per cent of the total marine landingswhile the demersal fishes constitute 22 per cent,crustaceans 17 per cent and mollusks 5 per cent.The Indian oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps)recorded an all time high landing of 0.2 lakh tonnes.

The Marine fisheries is at cross roads now. Theinshore waters are under heavy or excessive fishing

pressures. Most of the resources are optimallyexploited. A few are slightly over exploited.

While there is no scope for increasing fishingefforts in the coastal areas up to 50 m depth zone,there are few deep-sea resources which are presentlyunder exploited.Inland

It has already been pointed out that the State isendowed with immense fresh water resources.Besides, there are estuaries, backwaters, brackishwater area, pokkali & prawn filtration fields andprivate shrimp farms. All these bodies of waterprovide rich sources of inland fisheries.

Inland fish production provides significantcontribution to animal protein supplies in ruralareas of the State. Most of the inland production isconsumed locally and marketed domestically. TheInland sector of the State contribute around 0.78

Table 2MARINE FISH PRODUCTION IN KERALA FROM 2001-02 to 2005-06

Sl.No. Name of Fish 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-061. Elasmobranches 2991 3197 3066 3044 31602. Cat fish 150 121 154 154 1673. Sardine 266682 209101 274003 271057 2152164. Anchovilla 34925 29173 35869 35312 301685. Saurida & saurus 5856 6817 6021 5916 55526. Perches 30212 40119 31020 30437 304007. Scianids 8863 6093 9056 8992 98878. Ribbon Fish 18364 16082 18815 18657 156799. Caranx 25110 24855 25721 25419 2698710. Mackerel 42446 54537 43551 43017 4420211. Seer fish 2326 3499 2389 2371 242712. Tunnica 11014 15444 11314 11208 1192313. Prawn 56445 56977 56731 56717 4974314. Other crustacean -- 891 344 332 39815. Others 88399 136380 90471 89230 112954

Total 593783 603286 608525 601863 558913

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IFP Souvenir 2007

lakh metric tonnes of fish annually, which accountsfor a value of Rs. 30,000 lakh.Brackish water fish resources

Estuaries and backwaters have saline waters andonly those fishes, which can withstand changes insalinity, thrive best. The brackish water fisheryresources consist of 75 species of which 57 speciesare from fish, 6 species of shrimp, 1 species of prawn,5 species of crabs and 6 species of bivalves, 28species were identified as commercially important.Some species of sardine and anchovies, mullets,catfishes, perches, pearl spot, prawns, oysters,mussels, crabs and clams are the most common.Fresh water fish resources

The rivers, rivulets, streams etc., originating fromthe Western Ghats are well known for their richnessof biodiversity including fresh water fish species.Altogether 210 primary fishes (excluding the marinemigrants) are found in the inland waters, of which53 species are endemic. Majority of these fishspecies had ornamental value also. Today theWestern Ghats is recognized as one of the 25“biodiversity hotspots” in the world.

The cultivable food fishes native to Keralaincludes Thooli (Labeo dussumieri), Kooral(Gonoproktopus curmuca), Manjakoori(Horabagrus brachysoma), Kuyil (Tor khudree),Katti (Tor mussallah), Pulivaka (Channamicropeltes), Musi (Clarius batrachus), Manalvaka(Channa leucopunctatus), Brahmanakandi(Lepidopygopsis typus), Wynad Musi (Siluriuswynadensis), etc.

Several endemic fishes such as Mastacembalusarmatus, Horabagrus brachysoma, Mesonoe-macheilus guntheri, M. monilis, Tetradontravancoricus, Puntius denisonii, P. aurilius, P.jerdoni, Barilius bakeri, Tor khudree, Tor mussallahetc., have high ornamental value and now thesealso attain the status of dollar minting fishes.

A large number of new fish species has beenreported recently from the State. Some of them areGarra periyarensis, G. surendranathani,Mesonemacheilus menoni, M. periyarensis,Travancoria elongate,Salarius reticulates andPuntius muvattupuzhaensis.

Table 3District Wise Distribution of Marine Fishermen Population and Percentage of Active

Fishermen In Kerala During 2005-06Active % of

Sl. No. Districts Male Female Children Total fishermen Activefishermen

1. Trivandrum 67070 59257 52683 179011 48927 27.332. Kollam 41714 35279 20677 97690 19738 20.213. Alappuzha 46393 42348 28693 117434 34309 29.224. Ernakulam 30824 28896 18043 77763 15295 19.675. Thrissur 30479 30709 17483 78671 8645 10.996. Malappuram 33467 27213 24873 85553 27283 31.897. Kozhikode 40982 35748 27373 104103 20130 19.348. Kannur 22132 20112 17190 59434 5811 9.789. Kasargod 18375 17349 10725 46449 10345 22.27

Total 331435 296912 217740 846088 190483 ---

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Cold water Fish resourcesThe high land waters of the State have cold water

and that can sustain only the so-called cold-waterfishes, and hence have a fishery different from thatof the plains. Thenmala reservoir, Kulathupuzhariver, Palaruvi, Aruvikkara, Gavi, Munnar,Pookkottulake, Malampuzha and many otherstreams and rivulets are the home grounds of suchfishes. Commercially important fishes include Salmosp., Tor sp., Schizothorax sp. Acrossochelius sp,Puntius sp., etc.Human Resources

The human resources include both artisanal andmechanized group of fishermen. The population offisher folk of Kerala is about 12 lakhs, whichincludes 8.46 lakhs in the marine sector and 3.2.lakh

in the inland sector. Out of this the number of activefishermen is estimated as 2.54 lakhs, of this 1.91lakh is in the marine sector and 0.42 lakh is in theinland sector. The fishermen settlements are spreadover in 222 fishing villages in marine sector and113 villages in the inland sector. Geographically thefishing activities are mainly spread over 200 GramaPanchayats, 1 Municipality and 4 Corporations.Human Resources – Marine Sector

Those who depend upon the marine sector ofthe State for the livelihood constitutes about 8.46lakh, which comes to about 2.51% of the State’stotal population. The number of fishermenhouseholds is estimated to be 1.61 lakhs. Thenumber of active fishermen is 1.91 lakh and almostan equal number of people are presently engaged

Table 4

District Wise Distribution Of Inland Fishermen Population AndPercentage Of Active Fishermen In Kerala During 2005-06

Sl. No. Districts Male Female Children Total Active % of fishermen Active

fishermen

1. Trivandrum 462 535 451 1454 --- ---2. Kollam 14545 13692 8782 37019 9383 25.353. Pathanamthitta 1086 943 439 2468 321 13.004. Alappuzha 26982 25859 13911 66752 8786 13.165. Kottayam 10547 10012 6239 26798 5986 22.346. Idukki 319 322 202 843 162 19.217. Ernakulam 25608 25045 18088 68741 9396 13.678. Thrissur 8566 7832 4938 21336 1702 7.989. Palakkad 934 918 943 2795 542 19.3910. Malappuram 1983 1727 934 4644 1659 35.7211. Kozhikode 4475 4715 3666 12856 1779 13.8412. Waynadu 94 101 97 292 --- ---13. Kannur 2659 2812 1511 6982 1685 24.1314. Kasargod 425 402 187 1014 504 49.70

Total 98685 94916 60393 253994 41905 ---

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IFP Souvenir 2007

in fishery related activities such as vending,processing and marketing. The density ofpopulation in the marine fishing villages works outto 2162 per sq. km as against 819 of the averagedensity of Kerala.Human Resources – Inland Sector

The total population of fisher folk, who earn theirlivelihood from the inland waters of the State comesaround 2.54 lakhs, which accounts 0.67% of theState’s total population. The active fishermen of theinland sector are estimated as 0.42 lakh.Fishing fleet

The introduction of mechanized bottom trawlingfor exploiting the marine fishery resources beyondthe traditional fishing grounds was an importantevent in the State fisheries. This fishing techniquewas primarily for harvesting shrimps and attainedwide popularity in the subsequent years and led tothe development of an organized fishing industryin the State. The increasing demand of the shrimpsin the export market attracted the entrepreneurs toinvest in a sector that resulted an unhealthycompetition and subsequent spurt in the numberof trawlers and other mechanized boats. There wasenormous increase in the number of fishing craftsoperating in Kerala during the last couple ofdecades. Perhaps, the State will have the largestfishing fleet density in the country. The StateGovernment had banned introduction of newfishing vessel for inshore fishing since 1986, but thetotal number of fishing vessels increased from34,000 in 1988-89 to 55,500 in 2002-03. In thecase of motorized craft, the increase during theperiod was from 9914 to 29,395. A surveyconducted by the Department of Fisheries during2006-07 gives a different picture in which is noticeda remarkable reduction in the number of fishingvessels in all the categories of fishing crafts.Theconsiderable increase in number of crafts are notreflected as proportionate increase in fishproduction. Hence, further investments in marinesector may be only for replacement of the existingcrafts and gears and equipping the existing vesselswith fish finding and navigational devices andstorage facilities to enable them to undertake asuccessful offshore fishing.

Fishing Crafts In The Marine SectorSl. Type of Fishing Number*No. Craft

1. Non motorized Craft 9,5522. Motorized craft 14,1513. Mechanized boats 3,451* 2006-07 State Fisheries DepartmentIn the inland sector the fishing, fleet is not

organized as that of the marine sector. Here onlynon-motorized/traditional type of vessels areoperated. Plank built canoes and dug out canoesare the common crafts.Fishing fleet - Marine

The fishing fleet in the marine sector can becategorized into three types namely, mechanized,motorized and non-motorized. Trawlers, Gill netsand Purse seines come under the category ofmechanized fishing vessels, where engine power isalso used for fishing. The total number ofmechanized boats operating in the State isenumerated as 3451 Nos. Motorized craft includesPlywood canoes, which are used power only forpropulsion through outboard motors (OBM) andInboard engine fitted vessels (inboard vallom).

There are 3 main types of non-motorizedtraditional crafts, namely, catamarans, dug outcanoes and plank built canoes.Fishing fleet - Inland

In the inland sector only non-motorized/traditional type of vessels are operated. Plank builtcanoes and dug out canoes are the common crafts.Catamarans were occasionally operated in theParavoor backwater of the Kollam district. Castnetting, Drag netting, Gillnetting, Crab trapping,dive fishing, clam fishing, oyster fishing, line fishingetc, are practised with these crafts.Infrastructure facilities

Fishermen community of the State was the ‘Outliers’ of the well proclaimed ‘Kerala DevelopmentModel’. In order to uplift them the State Governmentpaid adequate attention to create socialinfrastructure facilities to this weaker section rightfrom the 3rd five year plan onwards.

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Fishing Harbours, Fish landing centers,Fisheries roads, Fisheries dispensaries, Guide lights,Community resource centres, Fisheries Researchinstitutes and Schools are the major infra structurefacilities.Fishing harbours

Kochi & Neendakara are the two major fishingharbours for mechanized sector and theThankasserry fishing harbour is the only one forthe traditional sector. Munambam, Mopla bay,Chombal, Kayamkulam, etc, are medium harbours.New fishing harbours are being constructed atPonnani, Thalai, Muthalappozhy etc. Recently,sanction was accorded by the Central Governmentfor a new fishing harbour at Chettuva in Thrissurdistrict.

Neendakara fishing harbour provides landingand berthing facilities to the existing fleet ofmechanized crafts operating from Kollam region andVizhinjam harbour is being intended to developdeep-sea fishing.Fish Landing Centers

The fish caught by the traditional fisherman islanded all along the coast usually on the open beach,which has neither jetties nor any other facilities.Government of Kerala has taken up a few projectsfor establishing ‘Fish landing Centers’ in the State.7 landing centers have been constructed withimproved facilities for mechanized & motorizedcrafts. These landing centers are having provisionfor auction hall, repairing shed, water & electricity,parking etc.Guide lights

Guide lights are very useful to fishermen to returnto their destination during night hours. Hence theState Government has constructed 16 guide lightsduring 1960 through Public Works Department.Many of them are now not functioning due totechnical problems and the Department of Fisheriesis planning to construct new guide lights in place ofthese.Fisheries roads

Roads form a vital link in the movements of fishand fishery products and establish connectivity with

fishing harbours, landing centers and markets. Withthis in view, the fisheries department constructedmany fishery roads in the coastal belt of the State.Fisheries dispensaries

The State Government has established 37fisheries dispensaries in various coastal villages. Thelocal bodies provide land for the dispensary,department of Fisheries construct the building &other facilities and the dispensaries are run by publichealth department.Fisheries Schools and Research institutes

The fishermen population has been left behindin the process of attaining the total literacy level inKerala. The dropout of children from the primaryschool level is very high. In order to improve thestandard of education of fisher folk, StateGovernment Started ‘Fisheries School’ underFisheries department. Now there are 10 Fisheriesschools through out Kerala under the control ofDepartment of Fisheries.

The headquarters of major Central FisheriesResearch Institutes are situated at Kochi in Kerala.They are Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI), Kochi, Central Institute for FisheriesTechnology (CIFT), Kochi, Integrated FisheriesProject (IFP), Kochi, Central Institute for FisheriesNautical Science and Engineering (CIFNET), Kochi,National Institute for Oceanography (NIO), Kochiand National Physical Oceanography Laboratory(NPOL), Kochi.

Besides these, two sub centres of CMFRI arealso situated in Kerala, one at Vizhinjam,Trivandrum district and other at Kozhikkode beach.At Vizhinjam, CMFRI runs a very good Marineaquarium, which attracts the public considerably.A sub centre of Central Inland Fisheries ResearchInstitute (CIFRI) was functioning at Alappuzha.

The headquarters of Marine Product ExportDevelopment Agency (MPEDA) is situated at Kochiand it has two sub centers in Kerala. Similarly,Export Inspection Agency (EIA) has their centre atKochi and Sub center at Kollam. A Regional officeof Fisheries Survey of India (FSI) is functioning atKochi. The Integrated Fisheries Project has also itsheadquarter at Kochi.

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Cochin University of Science and Technology hasan exclusive marine science campus at Ernakulam,where postgraduate courses are conducted undervarious fields under fisheries science and relatedfaculties. In its main campus at Kalamassery, apostgraduate course on Ship Technology is alsoconducted for general students and Naval Cadetsas well. Doctoral and Postdoctoral research is goingon here. Kerala University also conducts a postgraduate course in Aquatic biology and Fisheries.The course conducted under the Department ofAquatic Biology and Fisheries, Kariavattom(Trivandrum district) include doctoral and postdoctoral studies in Fisheries Science, aquacultureand the applications of Biotechnology in Fisheriesand aquaculture. Many Colleges under CalicutUniversity and MG University are conductinggraduate and postgraduate level fishery courses.

More over many institutes under private sectors,offer a variety of many courses in relation to NauticalSciences. All these facilities cater to the over alldevelopment of the fisheries scenario of the State.Fish markets

A recent survey conducted by the Departmentof Fisheries has shown that there are 2703 fishmarkets in the State which includes 185 whole salemarkets, 2518 retail markets and 1126 way sidemarkets. Department of Fisheries providesassistance to local bodies to construct and upgradeMarkets.

Four markets were constructed in the inlandsector viz. Nedumangadu, Vaikom, Kundara andPerambra with modern facilities such as ice plantsand cold storages, retail outlets, fish handling sheds,etc, with the assistance from the CentralGovernment.Fish booths

The supply of quality fish and fishery productsto the consumers of the distant areas always poserisk because it is one of the most perishablecommodities. In order to tackle this problem and tocater to a new direction of fish marketing, fishbooths are set up in many parts of the State.Industrial Fisheries units

Industrial fisheries units include processing

plants, peeling sheds, Ice plants, curing yards, dryingyards, depuration units, chitin-chitosan plant, Coldstorages, boat building yards, diesel bunks, kerosenebunks etc. Ice plants, cold storages, freezing plantsand processing plants are developed for thepromotion of shrimp fishing industry in the state.Ice is required in large quantities to prevent spoilage.Easy availability of ice will help better utilization ofshrimp harvest.

In the co-operative sector Matsyafed has an Iceand Freezing Plant at Kochi with a cold storagecapacity of 600 tonnes. The plant has a flake iceunit with a capacity of 15 tonnes per day, a platefreezer of 5 tonnes capacity, a tunnel freezer of 3tonnes capacity and IQF unit with 2.5 tonnescapacity.

Out of 106 processing plants engaged in theexport of seafood products 44 units enjoy thedistinction of being approved by the EuropeanUnion. Majority of these industrial fisheries units arenot fully utilizing their installed capacities due tovarious reasons.Ornamental fish trading units

Aquarium keeping is picking up as a hobbyamong the people of the State. This is evident fromthe coming up of new ornamental trade units in allparts of the State. There has occurred a spurt in thenumber of aquarium trade/ pet units in the Stateafter the Aqua shows conducted by the StateFisheries Department during the past few years.Fishery Regulations In Kerala

Fishery regulations are inevitable formanagement and sustainable fishery development.Kerala was one of the first earliest States to enactthe Marine Fishing Regulation Act (1980) forenforcing regulatory measures for restricting thenumber of fishing crafts and to ban the use ofdestructive nets. The State has been successfullyimplementing the Monsoon Trawl Ban for the lastso many years.

The Act empowers the State Government forthe restriction or prohibition of:1. Fishing within a specified area in the territorial

waters of the sea using specified craft and gears.

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IFP Souvenir 2007

2. The number of fishing vessels, which may beused for fishing in any specified area in theterritorial waters.

3. The catching in any specified area of suchspecies of fish and for such periods.

4. Fishing by un licensed vessels and5. For registration and licensing of fishing vessels

and cancellation, suspension and amendmentof license already issued.

The laws relating to inland fishing in Kerala arecontained in the ‘Indian Fisheries Act (1897)’ andthe ‘Travancore Cochin Fisheries Act (1950) andthe rules and orders there under. The former Actextends to Malabar area viz., Palakkad,Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod andWayanad districts of the State and latter to theremaining districts of the State. Both Acts containmore or less similar provisions.

The important provisions common to both theActs are those that empower the State to make rulesprohibiting or regulating:-1. Erection of fixed engines2. Dimension and kind of nets to be used or mode

of using them.3. Fishing in any specified area for a period not

exceeding two years and4. Applying the rules so made to waters specified

by notification.The Indian Fisheries Act is a century old one

and in marine regulation the State has jurisdictiononly up to 12 nautical mile beyond which the thingsare to be considered by the Union Govt. The entirelaw relating to fisheries need updation to containtechnological improvements as well as resourceconstraints in the field of fisheries.Present Status

The potential marine fishery resources of theState are estimated as 7.51 lakh tonnes againstwhich the present level of exploitation is 6.02 lakhtonnes.The inland fish production is to the tune of0.77 lakh tonnes. The fisheries sector contributesabout 2 % of the State’s net domestic product andprovides employment to 10.89 lakh people (which

are more than 3.5 % of the State’s population) ofwhich 2.26 lakh people are full time fishermen. TheState accounts for 19 % of the Marine ProductExported from the country. The contribution of theState to fish production in the country is about 28 %.Capture Fisheries

The marine fish production in the state has beengenerally stagnant for the past years with an averageproduction of 5.88 lakh tonnes, now experience amarginal increase for the last 3 years and nowcovering around 6.0 lakh tonnes showing thatexploitation has reached maximum sustainablelevels.

The fish catches from the Kerala coast includemore than 300 different species, the commerciallyimportant species about forty only. The high valuespecies among the fish catches are still a few.Prominent among them are seer fish, Pomfret andprawn. Ribbon fishes are also now a target groupand nearly 60-70 percent of the landings in frozenform are exported to China, Japan and other SouthEast Asian countries.

The quantity of these high value species in thetotal catch ultimately decides the income of thefishermen. Unfortunately, the share of these highvalue varieties in the total marine fish catch has beenremaining stagnant. The annual potential of prawnyield is estimated at 64482 tonnes while the averagecatch during 2004-05 was 53361 tonnes. The catchof Sardine, the most important variety consumedmainly by the poorer section of the society, reachedthe maximum potential in recent years.

The case of inland fishery production shows asign of improvement from 0.48 lakh tonnes (1994-95) to 0.77 lakh tonnes (2004-05), which accountsfor about 13 % of the total fish production of theState.

Marine product export from the State hasincreased from 49,094 MT valued at Rs. 414 Croresin 1992-93 to 97311 MT valued at Rs. 1258 Croresin 2005-06. The State contributes 19 % by volumeand 17 % by value to the country’s Marine ProductExport.

The population pressure on the aquatic resourcesof the State is the highest as compared to other

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IFP Souvenir 2007

states in the country. The per capita availability offishable area is 10 ha, against the national averageof 37 ha. The sector also plays a very importantrole in the food economy of the State as 90 % ofthe population consumes fish. The per capitaconsumption of fish in the State is the highest inthe Country with 24 Kg against the national averageof 9 Kg.Culture Fisheries

Being the principal Marine fish producer andexporter State in the country for a long time, Keralaoccupies an inimitable position in the fisheries mapof India. But in the last couple of years the state haslost its crown due to the depleting fish stock fromthe conventional fishing grounds. In this contextaquaculture is viewed as a second option forincreasing fish/shrimp/prawn production. Thetechnological development in the inland fisheriespaved the way for making use of inland waterresources spread over the different districts of theState for aquaculture development.

Aquaculture currently enjoys the distinction ofbeing one of the fast growing food productionsectors in the State. But following the wide spreadout breaks of viral diseases, the rate of developmenthas declined sharply. Serious concerns were voicedat this time about the future of this sector. The Stategovernment is now in the process to formulate a‘Master plan for aquaculture’.Mariculture

In Kerala the marine fisheries has been stagnantover the last couple of years and is likely to remainat the present level or may show further decline.The only way to tide over the situation is to enhanceproduction through culture. Mariculture is expectedto be a major aquaculture activity in the coastalareas in the coming years for generating additionalincome and to develop a sound economic base forthe poor fisher folk.

Despite its high potential, little or virtually noattention is given to this sector. Whatever takingplace are as an experimental or pilot ordemonstration basis by the Department of Fisheriesand research institutes like CMFRI. Manymariculture technologies are simple, easy to adopt

and eco-friendly. However, not much area ispresently used for commercial rearing of marineorganisms.Status of Shell fish farming in the seas ofKerala

During the last few decades technologies ofmariculture for shell fishes like mussel and pearloyster have been developed by CMFRI. But itscommercialization has attained its potential levels.Mussel farming

Experiments in Kerala by CMFRI, adopting ropeculture of the green mussel and brown mussel atVizhinjam (Trivandrum), Anthakaranazhi(Alappuzha) and Kasargod have succeeded inproducing harvestable stocks in a period of 5 monthsto 8 months. Floating rafts of 6 X 6 m or 8 X 8 mfabricated out of Teak pole and Bamboo poles dulybuoyed and anchored firmly are used forsuspending culture ropes in the coastal seas at depthranging from 5 – 15 m. Even though the technologywas standardized during middle 70’s, maricultureproduction of mussel is not yet popular due tovarious reasons.Pearl oyster farming

The technology for culture pearl was developedby CMFRI in 1973. In 1976 Department of Fisherieshad made attempts to adopt the technologydeveloped by CMFRI and implemented a pilotproject at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district.The projects were started with great ambition butwere closed down since the achievements madewere far short of the target.Status of Seaweed Farming in Kerala

Nutrient rich but calm and protected waters aresuitable for seaweed cultivation. The CMFRI hasbeen successful to develop technology forcommercial level seaweed culture. ADAK has nowtaken up a pilot project for cultivating Kapaphycusalvarezii at 10 selected sites from Varkala(Trivandrum) to Cheruvathur (Kasargod). Initialreports indicate good chances of success.Coastal Aquaculture

To augment production from the aquaticresources, in the form of shrimps, crabs, bivalves

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Public Sector - Brackishwater Fish Farms In KeralaSl. Name of the Farm Area Ownership DistrictNo.1 Govt. Fish Farm, Ayiramthengu 15.78 Dept.of fisheries Kollam2 Arattupuzha Farm 40.00 Dept. of Fisheries Alappuzha3 Malippuram Fish Farm 21.40 Matsyafed Ernakulam4 Njarakkal Fish Farm 18.40 Matsyafed Ernakulam5 Edakochi Fish Farm 10.93 Matsyafed Ernakulam6 Palaikari Fish Farm 48.00 Matsyafed Kottayam7 Model Shrimp Farm 49.09 ADAK Thrissur8 PoyyaKadappuram Farm 8.08 Dept. of Fisheries Thrissur9 Chakkamkandam Farm 3.24 Dept. of Fisheries Thrissur10 Eranjholi Fish Farm 10.97 ADAK Kannur

and fishes from the low lying, barren, unproductiveor marginally productive coastal saline lands,swamps and other brackish water bodies are to bebrought under coastal aquaculture. Traditionalbrackish water aquaculture – the Prawn filtration inPokkali fields – is an age old practice in Kerala.Modern coastal aquaculture is an offshoot of thetraditional aquaculture and it is largely confined toshrimp aquaculture.Status of shrimp farming in Kerala

The State of Kerala has a hoary tradition inshrimp farming. Traditional shrimp farming knownas ‘Chemmeen kettu’ is practised in pokkali fieldsof Ernakulam district since time immemorial. TheState has a potential brackish water area of 65000ha suitable for shrimp farming. At national levelKerala enjoys the 4th position in aquacultureproduction of shrimp during 2004-05.

Scientific shrimp farming with selective stockingand supplementary feeding is yet to pick up in theState. Social constrains and legal problemsconnected with CRZ and recurrence of shrimpdiseases are the major threats to the developmentof this sector.Traditional Prawn filtration practices

The Pokkali fields, a unique eco system coveran area of 1,25,000 ha, where the age old shrimpfiltration practice known as ‘chemmeen kettu’ iscarried out after the harvest of paddy. The Pokkali

fields are concentrated in Ernakulam, Alappuzha,parts of Kottayam and Thrissur districts. In thetraditional system of culture shrimp and fish seedsbrought in through tidal water are trapped in thepokkali fields and are allowed to grow for 4 to 5months. In this traditional system no selectivestocking and supplementary feeding are done.

By adopting improved traditional farming withselective stocking and supplementary feeding, theproduction of shrimp from these traditional fields isincreased greatly.Area coverage and shrimp production

According to the information available withMPEDA 13990.53 ha is under shrimp culture during2000-2001. This comes around to only 22 % ofthe potential area. Both Public and private sectorsare engaged with shrimp farming in Kerala. 7327metric tones of shrimps are produced at the rate of530 kg/ha/crop largely through a low inputextensive system of farming.Shrimp farms in Public Sector

The details of brackish water farms in publicsector are furnished below. Njarakkal brackishwater farm in Ernakulam district is one of the oldestfish farms in the country. The fish farm at Poyya inThrissur district presently managed by ADAK is amodern farm constructed under UNDP assistance.Malippuram, Palaikari and Njarakkal farms aremanaged by Matsyafed. The remaining farms under

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IFP Souvenir 2007

the Department of Fisheries are leased out to privateentrepreneurs and prawn filtration is carried out.The total area of the public sector farm is about226 ha, which comes around only to 1.62 % of thetotal culture area.Shrimp farms in private sector

The district wise details of private sector shrimpfarms are furnished below. Out of a total of 2414farms in private sector more than 58% belongs tothe category of small farms with an area of less than2 ha. In Kollam district almost 90% of the farmsbelong to this category. 44% of farms belong to2.5-5 ha category. Bigger farms of more than 10ha area are mostly prawn filtration fields belongingto Ernakulam, Thrissur and Alappuzha districts.More than 4000 ha of farms belong to small andmarginal farmers.Shrimp Hatcheries

Quality prawn seed is a critical input requiredfor successful shrimp aquaculture. In order toensure availability of quality shrimp seedscommercial shrimp hatcheries are established inthe public as well as private sector. At present anarea of more than 15000 ha is identified as suitablefor shrimp culture. At the rate of stocking density of40,000 seeds per ha as directed by AquacultureAuthority of India, the total seed requirement willbe in the tune of 600 million of Penaeus monodon.The details of shrimp hatcheries are furnished inthe Table.

Details of Shrimp Farms in Private SectorSl.No Name of 0-2 ha 2-5 ha 5-10ha > 10 ha

District No. of Area No. of Area No. of Area No. of Area1. Kollam 246 118.00 8 22.60 2 17.2 .. ..2. Alappuzha 129 92.20 14 45.00 3 28.4 8 2193. Ernakulam 551 928.98 413 1895.5 179 1774.9 134 1351.34. Thrissur 386 442.62 157 464 53 361.8 13 922.35. Malappuram 1 2.00 .. .. .. .. .. ..6. Kozhikode 10 15.50 4 15.3 .. .. .. ..7. Kannur 39 50.30 22 82 9 68 2 51.28. Kasargod 30 14.20 .. .. 1 7.8 .. ..

Total 1392 1663.80 618 2524.4 247 2258 157 2543.8

The State has 28 shrimp hatcheries with aproduction capacity of 459 million seeds. Out ofthese 6 hatcheries are established in public sector.The remaining 22 hatcheries are in private sector.It can be also noted that these hatcheries areproducing seeds only to the limit of 20 – 30 % oftheir installed capacity. At least a few of the privatehatcheries are functioning as ‘sales depots’ of theseed imported from neighbouring states.Aquaculture Authority and farm licensing

Aquaculture Authority of India has so far issuedlicenses to 604 farmers for shrimp farming in thestate. The district-wise details of licenses issued arefurnished below.Details of Licenses issued for Shrimp Farming

by National Aquaculture AuthoritySl.No. Name of No. of licenses

district issued1 Kollam 2012 Kottayam 33 Alappuzha 1504 Ernakulam 1185 Thrissur 446 Malappuram 77 Kozhikode 98 Kannur 679 Kasaragod 5

Total 604

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Shrimp health managementDisease monitoring and shrimp health

management are crucial in the light of frequentoutbreak of white spot disease in shrimp farms. Anexclusive center for Fish Disease Diagnosis andManagement under the School of EnvironmentStudies, CUSAT is functioning at Kochi.

Various Central Institutes based at Kochi suchas Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT)and Central Maine Fisheries Research Institute(CMFRI) also render quality control and assuranceservices. MPEDA also provides diagnostic PCRfacilities for the benefit of farmers. ADAK has onePCR lab at North Paravoor which has alreadystarted functioning. Assistance is also provided tothose entrepreneurs who are interested inestablishing PCR labs.Status of other Shell fish farming in Kerala

Brown mussel (Perna indica) is available in plentyin the Southern coast; green mussel (Perna viridis)is abundantly distributed in the Northern coast. TheIndian backwater oyster (Crassostrea madrasensis)is an ideal oyster species suitable for farming. Mudcrab (Scylla serrata) is suitable for crab fatteningand culture.

ADAK and BFFDA are promoting mussel/oysterfarming in Kerala. ADAK is implementing a projecton ‘Mussel farming in the back waters of Kerala’under ‘Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project’ ineight districts by organizing Self Help Groups (SHG)of fisher folk.Candidate species for aquaculture

There are 2 species of mussel, 5 species of clams,1 species of edible oyster and 2 species of crabsdistributed in the brackish water areas suitable foraquaculture. Natural seeds are widely distributedall along the coast of Kerala.Crab fattening /Culture

Mud crab fattening and culture are gainingpopularity in the State. Baby crabs collected fromestuaries and back water areas and juvenile & watercrab caught during commercial operations form the

seed material. A hatchery for production of crabseed has been established on experimental basisby the CMFRI.

There is a good demand for live crab in theexport market and it fetches high price. Thetechnology support for crab culture is available fromCMFRI, Fisheries Department, BFFDA and ADAK.In Kerala, farming the younger ones in the growout system is being carried out on a limited scale inVypin island and Chellanum region in Ernakulamdistrict.Mussel culture

Mussel culture has prospects in Kollam,Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikkode, Kannur andKasargod Districts. Technology for mussel farmingwas standardized by CMFRI, BFFDAs, ADAK,Department of Fisheries and Local bodies topromote mussel farming through women SHG’s.ADAK has implemented a project on ‘Musselfarming in the back waters of Kerala’ under ‘TsunamiEmergency Assistance Project’ in eight districts byorganizing Self Help Groups (SHG) of fisher folk.Oyster farming

Oyster fishery of Kerala is limited to back waterslike Dharmodam, Kayamkulam, Ashtamudi,Paravoor, Kadalundi etc. C. madrasensis is the mostprominent species. Oyster farming technology hasbeen developed by CMFRI and Kerala was the firstSate in the country to commercialize this technology.More than 80 percent of the oyster farmers in Keralaare women. There are tremendous potentials foroyster farming in Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam,Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikkode and Kannurdistricts but culture operations are possible only forsix months during the pre monsoon period.Dependence on wild seed and marketing lacunaeare the major constraints at present.Brackish water fish culture

Production of seeds or young ones is one of thevital aspects of any farming. Even though a vastnumber of brackish water resources are availablein Kerala, the development of brackish water fishculture is in its infant stage. The main obstacle for

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IFP Souvenir 2007

1980 that the first commercial freshwater prawnhatchery in India was established at Azheekode inThrissur district under the Department of Fisheries,Kerala. Subsequently the seed production trialscarried out at the College of Fisheries, Panangad,Kochi was instrumental for improving and perfectinga commercial seed production technology which isbeing widely adopted all over the country.Area coverage under Freshwater prawnfarming

A number of schemes are implemented byvarious agencies such as ADAK, MPEDA,Department of Fisheries and FFDAs for thepromotion of scampi farming. In the initial years,the Department of Fisheries motivated the farmersfor supplementary stocking of scampi seed incomposite fish culture of Indian Major Carps (I.M.C).

During 1999-2000, 1600 metric tones of scampiwere produced through supplementary stocking ofscampi seed along with Indian Major Carps. Therevenue generated during the year is of the orderof Rs.28 crores.

During the last few years there has beenrevived interest in scampi culture as an economicactivity generating income and employment to thefarmers. Freshwater prawn culture has attractedincreased attention because of its potential as aforeign exchange earner. There is a growingdemand in the export market for cultured scampi.Freshwater prawn farming in reservoirs

Freshwater prawns are cultured in reservoirs ofPalakkad district on a pilot basis. Scampi seeds arestocked in Malampuzha, Meenkara, Kanjirapuzha,Mangalam, Pothundy and Chulliyar reservoirsalong with Indian Major Carps (IMC) and ExoticCarps (EC).

Meenkara and Chulliar which are small andshallow reservoirs, yielded good results. The detailsof stocking and harvest of freshwater prawns inMeenkara reservoir during the last five years arefurnished below.

the development of this sector is the non availabilityof quality seeds. During the bygone years thetechnologies for seed production of non fish cultureorganisms were developed and standardized, thesame for the finfish are not perfected.Inland Aquaculture

In Kerala the inland aquaculture has not attainedthe status as a major fish producing system. PerhapsKerala is one of the least developed Inlandaquaculture States in India. Most of the Inlandaquaculture activities in the State could be regardedas rural aquaculture. Fresh water aquaculture invillage tanks and ponds follow the improvedtraditional or semi intensive composite culture/ polyculture systems and they serve only to meet thehouse hold needs and to some extent as additionalincome for family. This very little recognition ofinland aquaculture in the State is due to pre-eminence of marine fisheries.Status of Freshwater Prawn Farming in Kerala

Kerala has a longstanding tradition in freshwaterprawn fishery in Vembanadu lake, the naturalhabitat of Scampi (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).The state has made the debut in commercialhatchery in the country for scampi seed productionat Azheekode in Thrissur district.

However, the State has not been able to takeadvantage out of these pioneer developments andis lagging behind the States like Andhra Pradesh,Tamilnadu, Gujarat etc. At national level Keralaenjoys the 5th position in aquaculture productionof freshwater prawns.

Fresh water prawn culture had, in fact startedas a poly-culture activity in fresh water fish farms.Its demand in the international market hasmotivated some enterprising farmers to go formonoculture using natural seeds. The pace ofdevelopment was slow during the initial period.Freshwater prawn hatcheries

Quality prawn seed is a vital input required forthe development of prawn aquaculture. It was in

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Details of Freshwater Prawn Culture in Meenkara ReservoirDuring 1998-99 – 2003-04

No. of PL Cost of Quantity Revenue Per haYears of stocked seed Years of harvested generated productionstocking (Nos.) (Rs.) capture (kg) (Rs.) (Kg/ha)

1998-99 1,00,000 56,580 1999-2000 1752.15 332762 6.772000-01 2,13,000 1,51,650 2000-01 762.70 166770 2.942001-02 1,50,000 1,04,765 2001-02 867.50 216875 3.352002-03 70,000 35,000 2002-03 1339.63 334907 5.172003-04 72,000 36,000 2003-04 1264.26 316154 4.88

The average annual per ha production offreshwater prawn was 4.62 kg against a stockingrate of 467 nos/ha. The prawns have grown to asize ranging from 150 –600 gms. The average sizeof prawns harvested from the reservoir was 250 gms.The income of Reservoir fishermen co-operative hasincreased to a level of Rs. 13.67 lakhs exclusivelyfrom the sale of freshwater prawns during the period.

Kerala has tremendous potential for thedevelopment of freshwater prawn aquaculture.Adequate emphasis is to be given for the applicationof appropriate aquaculture technologies in differentagro climatic conditions to increase prawnproduction and attract the much needed investmentin the sector. Financial agencies, particularlycommercial banks, have a crucial role in thepromotion of freshwater prawn aquaculture byextending liberal credit to enterprising farmers.

With rational utilization of available resources thestate has the potential to emerge as a leader infreshwater prawn farming in the country.Status of Freshwater Fish Farming in Kerala

There is ample scope for the development offreshwater fish culture in Kerala. The extensivepolders and low lying paddy fields of Kuttanaduand Kole lands of Thrissur and Malappuram districtcan be utilized for rotational fish farming after paddy.Notwithstanding the FFDAs functioning in 14districts of the State it is disappointing to note thatfresh water fish farming has remained largelyunrecognized.

Even though local fishes are available in the Statefor the prosperity of fresh water fish culture, atpresent the culturing of Indian Major Carps is asynonym to fresh water fish culture in Kerala.Fish Seed Farms and Hatcheries

Fish seed is the basic input for fish culture. Non-availability of quality fish seed at the right time is aserious problem for aquaculture development.Under this circumstance Department of Fisheriesinitiated schemes for the establishment of fish seedfarms and hatcheries in the state in public as well asprivate sector. At present there are 51 fish seed farmswith a production capacity of 136 million seeds Butmajority of these seed farms have not reached tothe level of their installed capacity.Fresh Water Fish Culture in Reservoirs

It is very essential to increase fish production inthe inland sector. It could be possible only throughpromoting fish culture in all available water bodiesin the inland sector particularly in reservoirs.Attempts to develop reservoir fisheries in Keralastarted as early as 1960 under the Department ofFisheries. In 1992 the Indo-German ReservoirFisheries Development Project (IGRFD) startedactivities with its head quarters at Malampuzhaunder an agreement between the Government ofIndia and Government of Germany.

In 1992 the orientation phase of the projectstarted implementation during which the projectfocused on the development of Malampuzha,

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IFP Souvenir 2007

Pothundi, Chulliar, Peechi and Vazhani reservoirs.In 1995, the project started its implementation phasein five additional reservoirs viz. Mangalam,Meenkara, Peruvannamuzhi, Kanjirapuzha andWalayar.

The productivity of small reservoirs in Keralawas increased to a level of 53.5 kg/ha/yr, on anaverage. In individual reservoirs like Chulliar andMeenkara the productivity level has been raised to227 kg/ha/yr, and 76.5 kg/ha/yr (1992-93 to 1995-96).

This level of productivity is among the highestever reported at the national level. This is anindication that if given proper technical and financialsupport, the production from small reservoir canbe increased substantially so that the fishermen canundertake reservoir fishing as a viable avocation.

Non-availability of reservoirs for conductingfish culture is a major hurdle for development.Recently the Power Department has agreed inprinciple to let use the hydal power reservoirs forfishing purpose. KSEB have approved in principleto allow fish culture activities in the 11 (eleven)reservoirs under their control in an appropriate wayby organizing co-operatives / SHG’s of fishermenwho are residing in the vicinity of those reservoirs.Development of Fish culture in Ponds.

Of late there has been a shift in the emphasistowards the development of freshwater aquacultureand accordingly FFDAs have been established inall 14 districts to promote and popularize pondaquaculture in the State. FFDAs are provided withnecessary funds, extension service units andrequired infrastructure so as to develop fresh waterculture in each district.Development of cold water aquaculture inhigh ranges

A recent survey conducted by the Departmentof Fisheries revealed that the State has goodpotential for the development of tourism fisheries,cold water fisheries and sport fishing activities inhigh ranges. The Fisheries Resource ManagementSociety (FIRMA) in association with National ColdWater Research Institute, Nainital has chalked outprogrammes to set up a Mahseer Hatchery on aPilot scale at Pookote lake in Wayanad district. The

programme aims at propagating the depletedmahaseer fish resources in selected reservoirs andstreams in the high ranges, initiating angling forrecreation and organizing angling associations topromote tourism fisheries. Similarly, there is aproposal to establish a Trout Hatchery at Mattupettyin Idukki District to develop trout fisheries in highaltitude rivers, reservoirs, lakes etc.

The Tata’s has made sporadic efforts for thedevelopment of trout culture in hill streams especiallyat Munnar areas of Idukki district. Trout seedproduction is carried out on a limited scale atRajamalli on the foothills of Anamudi in Munnar.The Angling Association of Munnar organized todevelop sport fisheries in the region releases the troutseeds in various rivulets. Organized efforts areneeded for the development of trout fisheries in thehigh ranges of the State.Ornamental Fisheries

Kerala with its highly conducive climaticconditions provides scope for the development ofornamental fisheries. In the beginning of the lastdecade, aquarium keeping was at the infant stagein Kerala. The export of ornamental fish was belowRs. 1 crore. Recognizing the vast potential,Department of Fisheries organized Internationalaqua shows for creating public awareness andproviding a platform for the direct interaction withvarious organizations and institutions for theupliftment of the sector.

Augmenting the pace, a centrally sponsoredScheme through Fish Farmers Development Agency(FFDA) has been taken up by the State Departmentof Fisheries in all the 14 districts for providingtraining programme in ornamental fish culture tofish farmers in all districts.

In the Government sector, the Fisheries complex,Pannivelichira in Pathanamthitta district andGovernment model fish farm, Pallom in Kottayamdistrict have now been developed into centres ofproduction of fresh water ornamental fishes. Thegiant fish shaped aquarium near Malampuzhagarden is one of the best attractions in this touristcentre of Palakkad.

In Trivandrum district, the construction of amodern fresh water aquarium is almost completed

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IFP Souvenir 2007

at Neyyardam. In Kollam district a very goodaquarium is maintained by Matsyafed at Thenmalanear the reservoir area which also attains theattraction of both local and foreign tourists.

It is estimated that 163 ornamental fisheries andtrade units are functioning in the state. Aquariumkeeping is picking up as a hobby among the people.Under the circumstance a scheme on ornamentalfish breeding and marketing is implemented throughMatsyafed by organizing fisherwomen groups/societies.

In order to highlight the trade and export ofornamental fisheries, two Aqua techno park forornamental fisheries, one each at Kollam andErnakulam have been envisioned to beimplemented through Fisheries ResourceManagement Society (FIRMA) for impartingtechnical and financial support for the propagationof ornamental fisheries on a commercial basis.Challenges And ProblemsDeep-sea fishing not tapped

Despite our efforts for the development of deepsea fishing by creating infrastructure by resourcesurvey, training of Co-operatives, construction ofharbours, provision for charter, joint venture, testfishing etc, deep sea fishing is yet to make anyworthwhile impact on fish production. The fishresources in offshore and deep sea are not exploiteddue to lack of large sized vessels and fishingtechnology suitable for exploitation of deep-searesources such as Tunas and Cephalopods. Givinglicense to foreign fishing companies for deep-seafishing on liberal terms and conditions have createdhue and cry from various corners.Cold Storage Facilities inadequate

Inadequacy of cold storage facilities and coldchain in the landing centers the fishermen are notin a position to take the advantages of bumbercatches and hence they are forced to sell it at throwaway prices.Lack of facilities in Landing Centers/FishingHarbours

Due to the lack of facilities in the landing centers/fishing harbours etc. in catering to the standards of

quality stipulated by USA and other countries themarine product export scenario of the state havefaced serious problems at times. Instances are notrare when the consignments from India are rejectedon quality grounds. Such a situation may adverselyaffect the sustainability of fishing operation in theState.Role of middlemen in fish marketing

The fish marketing scenario of the State is largelyin the hands of middlemen and big merchants. Theright for first sales is not vested with the fishermen.The middlemen take away a great chunk of theproceeds. The fishermen’s share in the consumer’srupee range from 25% to 65%. The commissionagents are making undue advantages at the expenseof primary producers and consumers. Availabilityof fresh fish to consumers at reasonable prices isstill a distant reality.Deep Sea Fishing Policy

Government of India accorded permission toliberally import used vessels of running conditionfor fishing in the Indian seas. This decision wastactfully utilized by many of the Indian and foreignbusinessmen involving in the seller-buyer businessof vessels. The result was that many a foreign shipof Taiwan, Thailand and such other countriesextensively exploited our valuable fishery resourcesand sooner it reached a stage of depletion of theharvestable stock.Absence of strategies for the effectiveutilization of the by catch

It has already been pointed out that ever so manyother species of fishes are getting destroyed in theavaricious attempts to catch the shrimp resources.It has indicated that there are 5 species of fish itemscomprising 45 families in the discarded items afterpicking shrimp alone. The strategies for the landingsand utilization of these trash fish or by catch are yetto be developed.Unauthorized introduction of new fishingvessels

The existing marine fishing fleet of Kerala is farabove the recommended level, and the Kalawarcommittee in 1994 proposed to limit the number oftrawling boats to 1145 motorized crafts to 2690 and

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IFP Souvenir 2007

non-motorized crafts to 20,000. Yet, a large numberof mechanized and motorized fishing vessels areconstructed or being constructed without thepermission of the authorities. There was no controlover construction of new crafts.Usage of banned fishing practices andbanned gears

Bottom trawling, night trawling, purse seining,etc, and the usage of mesh size below 20 mm inany type of gears are banned in the State withpowerful Act & Rules. However, the effectiveenforcement of these laws are yet to be realised.Illegal fishing practices in the inland waters

The backwaters of Kerala face excessive,unauthorized & indiscriminate fishing pressure andillegal & detrimental fishing practices. Fishing byexplosives & poisoning, electro fishing & lightfishing etc. are wide spread in the backwaters.Stake nets are being operated during flood tides.The number of the stationary gears reached manyfold of its authorized numbers. Even the gears areused with less than 5 mm size meshes.Handicaps in an effective mechanism formarine & back water patrolling

The implementing Agency, i.e. FisheriesDepartment is not well equipped with patrollingfacilities. The department does not own efficientvessels for patrolling. Funds for the patrollingoperations are limited.Depletion of fishery stocks of commercialspecies

Many species, which constitute considerablequantum of the commercial catches during theprevious years, now show depletion or even underthe threat of extinction due to the mixed effects ofvarious anthropogenic activities.Aquatic pollution

Backwaters, rivers and even the seas are theultimate reservoirs of wastes generated by themodern civilization. Lack of facilities for monitoringthe marine & estuarine pollution is becoming asevere threat, which may pose hazards to the aquaticliving resources. The non-biodegradable pollutantsalter the aquatic eco-system to a considerable extent.

Aquaculture potential yet to be tapped fullyThe potential for marine, brackish water,

freshwater, cold-water aquaculture and ornamentalfisheries are not adequately tapped. Though cagefarming is picking up as a diversified form ofaquaculture in many parts of the country, cageaquaculture is yet to be developed in the State.Though oyster farming was practised in variouspockets of the backwaters, it has not reached anywhere near its potential.Lack of financial and marketing support infreshwater aquaculture

Lack of marketing support and consumerawareness are continuing problems that stand inthe way of development of fresh water aquacultureof carps. Similarly the financial institutions in theState are not quite willing to back up bankableaquaculture projects.Decreasing share of the state in the marineproducts export

The State’s share in marine products export atnational level is on the declining trend. Marineproduct export from Kerala has decreased from1392 M.T valued at Rs.1045.2 crore in 2002-03 to76627 M.T valued at Rs.1099.13 crore in 2003-04. Promotional programs for exportable varietieshave to be augmented.Potential from tourism and sports fisheriesare not explored

Even though, tourism has made rapid strides inthe State, tourism fisheries is still a non-starter inKerala. Angling fisheries and payavo fisheriespotential of the State are yet to be tapped. Theseare some of the favourite activities of the foreigntourists. The reservoirs located at high ranges, themountain streams, back waters, streams, lakes etc,can be developed into centers of tourism fisheries.Unhygienic conditions prevalent in fishmarkets

Domestic fish markets do not cop with thedemands of the modern society. The drainage andthe waste disposal facilities of such markets werepathetic. There are insufficient facilities for parkingvehicles, public comfort stations, storage facilitiesfor fish and other perishable commodities etc. insuch markets.

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Under utilization of the installed capacity ofthe processing plants

The installed capacity of the processing & preprocessing plants and cold storages are not fullyutilized. One estimate shows that less than 40% ofthese facilities were utilized due to varying reasons.High fishing costs

High diesel price and low kerosene quotas makesfishing operations less economic.General backwardness of coastalcommunities

Lack of sufficient housing and other socialinfrastructure facilities like drinking water, sanitation,electricity etc, still haunt the coastal villages. Thefishermen communities were the outliers of the well-proclaimed "Kerala developmental model".Threat to biodiversity

The biodiversity of these river systems isalarmingly declining due to a variety of reasons viz.obstruction in river courses, regulation anddiversification of water flow, sand mining & habitatdestruction, deforestation to soil erosion andunethical fishing practices.Dwindling of water bodies

The most serious anthropogenic alterations, thattake place in the inland waters are their alarmingreduction to 73% of its original area. The verticalshrinkage of backwaters by siltation and progressiveshallowing of backwaters have rendered them to35% of original depth.

Kudumbasree approach for economicempowerment of fisher folks need to take roots inthe coastal areas.

New self-employment programmes are beingimplemented with a view to empowering fisherwomen by organizing Self Help Groups (SHG) incoastal Panchayats.Destruction of mangroves

Mangrove forests are acting as the excellentbreeding and nursery grounds of great variety offinfish and shellfishes. Destruction of it led to thedepletion of these fishery resources.

Clandestine introduction of exotic fishesThe clandestine introduction of exotic fishes and

their intrusion in the natural waters are a matter ofgrave concern. The biodiversity of fish wealth isunder threat due to the competition of such fisheswith the indigenous fauna for food and habitat.Lack of insurance schemes in shrimp/fishculture

Insurance companies totally neglect aquacultureindustry from their area of coverage due to technicaland other reasons. This contributes one such reasonfor the backlashes of the aquaculture developmentin the State.Conclusion

Much to be done for over all development andwell being of the fisheries sector in the State. Thedeclining fisheries wealth has to be recouped. Thespecies, which are under a threat of extinction, mustbe propagated for which adoption of suitablemethod is desirable. Rotation of crops like "OruNellum Oru Meenum Scheme" (Paddy & fish) hasshown positive results in enhancing the production.The captive breeding and ranching programme issuccessful in propagation of fish species.

Even though the present expansion of fisheriessector in the State is much better than the past, thereis much scope for modernization and diversificationof the existing scenario. There is great need tointroduce deep sea fishing technologies anddiversification of existing fishing fleet, addition ofthe recent trends in fish processing industry to copwith the inter national standards, efforts for boostingthe coastal & inland aqua culture sector andintroduction of cold storages and cold chain andmodernization of the fish markets.

As rare species of ornamental fishes have highdemand in the domestic and foreign markets, thishas to be exploited in the best possible way.Production of value added fish product is anotherarea where the State has high potential. This enablesus to generate more income and employmentopportunities. In order to avoid a major catastrophein the rare species of fish diversity of the State intooblivion, some earnest efforts are required toconserve, preserve and propagate them. l

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nder the WTO regime, negotiations for Free TradeAgreements (FTA) between countries and countrygroupings such as the ASEAN, European Union,etc are on. The aims of the whole exercises are to

eliminate all subsidies going into the products, to taper offall tariff barriers (TB) such as customs and import duties,anti-dumping duties and avoidance of non-tariff barriers(NTB) such as quotas and stringent quality standardsarbitrarily specified when and where repulsion of import isfound convenient for the importing country. The philosophyis to have fair play and square-shooting in pricing andtrading practices by avoiding hidden unfairness in productpackages. The subsidies given in production processes, rawmaterials and capital goods, support prices for agricultureproducts or waiver of sales tax, export subsidies and exciseduties are intended as support measures for primaryproducers and manufacturers to sustain and develop whileoperating in the given socio-economic context within thenation. In the WTO parlance, subsidies are abhorred aspractices of nations to provide an unfair price advantageover the producers of the goods or substitutes manufacturedwithin the importing countries. Hence it is argued thatsubsidies are indirectly contributing to unfair trade practices.

On the other hand, customs duties, import duties, exportconcessions and incentives, etc are construed as directbarriers to free trade. They are import deterrents aimed atprotecting domestic producers from foreign ones who havea price advantage. They vary substantially from country tocountry, product to product and supplier country to suppliercountry.

UK. Prasadachandran Pillai**

Free Trade Preparednessfor a

DevelopingFishery Economy*

Assuringfishermen’s welfareand social security

as well asincentivising himfor refraining fromfishing will be an

ideal tool inconservation offish stocks....

*The views expressed here are personal to the author and may not

reflect those of the organization represented.

** Additional Director of Fisheries, Kerala

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Rich-Poor bilateral trade One of the important points that developing

economies such as India while entering into ‘free’trade with developed countries is that the formerare bound to be in a very disadvantageous positionwhile selling or buying. Fairness in deals is almostnon-existent when a poor man trades things with arich man. The poor man offers mostly raw materialswhich ‘is readily available elsewhere, at evencheaper rates’ while the rich man condescends togive away the ‘best quality’ product in the world atthe ‘most competitive rates’ with ‘no substitute inquality and price elsewhere’. The poor has to takewhatever is given to him by way of price to goodssold or purchased with all sorts of strings attachedto the deal and products. The classic case ofCaptain Cook and the early traders when they‘discovered’ Hawaiian islands getting ship loadsof dry fish in exchange of a few nails is worthremembering.

The United Nations Conference on Trade andDevelopment [UNCTAD] in its report for 2007 onfree trade agreements cautions the developingcountries against entering into FTAs with developedor industrialized countries, saying it could not onlyweaken the multilateral trading system, but alsoreduce the scope for national policies. But the noteof caution seems limited to the North-South bilateralor regional trade agreements: “Rather thansubscribing to the new regionalism”, developingcountries may examine other areas of cooperationwith partners in the same geographical region andat a similar level of economic development andintegration into the global economy”. TheUNCTAD says that in the case of an FTA betweendeveloped and developing countries the latter wouldloose out in competition and their domesticindustries would get overwhelmingly exposed onaccount of foreign competition. However, thesecautions notwithstanding, the number of FTAs rosefrom a mere 20 in 1990 to 86 in 2000 and to 159in 2007, pointing to a clear wave in favour ofregional or bilateral arrangements. This has beenattributed to a growing frustration amongdeveloping countries over the stalemate in themultilateral negotiations under the World TradeOrganization.*

Having had so much of circumspection, it is hightime that we had a deep introspection into our ownsituations in fish production, handling, processingand trade — domestic as well as export. Being morefamiliar with situation in Kerala though it may notbe typical for India, what is prevalent in Kerala isdiscussed in the ensuing deliberation.The Domestic Scene

Kerala has a million strong fishing communityof which 1.75 lakhs are active fishermen, and therest their dependants. Thus the sustenance andsurvival of a million poor people depends on thefate of the fishing industry. These marginalizedpeople have little access to the job markets of themainstream society. This only aggravates theirsocio-economic plight.

Since independence, the fishing industry haswitnessed great changes in its every aspect. Thecrafts have increased and improved in design,endurance and efficiency. Same is the case of gearand propulsion. The combined increases inefficiency, capacity and size has had itscommensurate impact in total production of fish,of course discounting the natural vagaries inabundance. The capture fishery production hasbeen taken to the M.S.Y levels or perhaps beyond.All odds against the producer

Dangerously enough, almost all the factors thatcontribute to this industry work against thefishermen’s interests from capital and operationalcosts to returns. Ownership of crafts and gear byfishermen is well below 20% and that toooverburdened by loans and pledges of all futurecatches. All the elements of operational costs areforbiddingly high. The cost of fuel, which tops hisoperational expenses continue to increase.Increases in the price of crude oil thus directly hitsa fishermen’s sustenance. Scarcity or price hike ofpower directly increases the cost of ice and freezing,and immediately lowers the price of fish.

The fishermen is at the receiving end again, hisproduce being the most perishable one andpreservation and storage costs are formidably highso he has to sell his catches in an “as is where iscondition” in a buyers’ market. The trading oflanded fish is not at all transparent. The price iscontrolled entirely by auctioneers or buyers. Theprice advantages in the export trade are seldom* The Hindu - Editorial Dt. Sept. 10, 2007

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handed over to the producer, but any disadvantagein processing or export is immediately transferredto the fishermen. On whatever price fixed for acatch, all the operational costs (mainly fuel, ice,water costs and ration advance) are summarilydeducted first and the rest of the money, if any, ismade available to divide between capital share,crew share and debt service. Thus all these factorscontribute to perpetuate the fisherman’s poverty andindebtedness. The fisherman inherits poverty,acquires a lot more of poverty in his life longsubsistence enterprise, and bequeaths a very vastestate of poverty to successors.

The post harvest scenario is none the better.Almost all the harbours and landing centers excepta few private jetties are constructed by thegovernment. Hygienic maintenance is practicallynon-existant, except in one or two fishing harbours.Due to poor sanitational conditions and badhandling practices, degradation of harbours andlanding centers start from the day ofcommissioning. This heavily contributes to fishspoilage and wastage, leading to high value erosion.

Processing and storage facilities are far fromsufficient and hence most of the fish for the domesticmarket reaches there as ‘fresh’ fish or rather,unprocessed fish. Even the varieties that reachesthe export processors looses much of their freshnessthus disabling them from getting manifold increasedprices.

There has been a steady increase in theconsumer prices in the domestic market. The pricesof almost all varieties of fish including common oil-sardines have more than tripled over the pastdecade. The consumer is now willing to pay morefor any fish. The urban and sub-urban consumersare willing to give some more if the seller does thedressing and cleaning of fish. But this increase inconsumer price does not reflect significantly in thereturns of neither the fisherman or the small fishvendors.

The seafood export trade is gradually stabilizingitself. During the 70s and 80s, there was an influxof fortune hunters and fast buck seekers. They hadinflicted very grave injuries to the export industryand the nation as a seafood exporter. Hundreds ofthem rented plants, availed large loans, obtainedsizeable export incentives, shipped a fewconsignments of worthless stuff and left the scene

cheating the buyers, fellow exporters, suppliers andbanks simultaneously. Even those who were notsuch swindlers often used the huge export incentivesto undercut fellow exporters – thus subsidies wereindirectly passed on to the foreign buyers. Thegovernment has been pampering the export industryto such a great extent that Sri Baby John, formerMinister and then a leading exporter wrote anarticle titled “Seafood – a subsidy orientedindustry”, in one of the annual numbers of theSeafood Export Journal!

Now even after a gradual elimination of fast buckseekers and small time businessmen, the industryhas not gained the health and professionalism toreturn better price support down the line to theproducers, mainly because our poor small exportersare doing business with rich mammoth businesshouses, in competition with small exporters fromfellow developing countries. The importers are ina strong position to dictate prices and qualitystandards which are often used for tariff politics oftheir governments.

With this background, the governments both inthe Centre as well as in the States would do well toprepare our fishery economy to brace up and facethe fallouts of the oncoming free trade agreementswith other countries or groups.Making Responsible Fisheries affordable.

One of the important things the advocates ofCode of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries tend toforget is that it is a very costly affair for a vastmajority of people involved in fisheries. Majorityof the signatory nations can ill afford the hugeinfrastructural investments the CCRF warrants, notto mention the costs of technology upgradation,costs of resource conservation and HRD. Still thegovernment of India and the States can do a lot toimprove the socio-economic condition of fishermenby providing them with welfare and social securityprogrammes. This will enable them to depend lesson fishing for a living and help reducing the fishingpressure. This will also help them afford to havegood fishing and handling practices, therebyavoiding high value erosion, and to have real valueaddition. Besides the general revenues of thegovernment, the exporters and traders must alsobe made to contribute to these welfare measures,since they will also benefit from the good fishingand handling practices rendered affordable to the

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fishermen. The exporters should willingly take thesestatutory contributions into their production costsand charge them on their export prices as they doin the case of the administered prices of electricityor water. They should not approach the courts toevade this responsibility unlike they did in the caseof the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Act.Handling and Processing Interventions

The capital and technology investments for goodquality handling, processing, storage, transportationand marketing are too high and unaffordable tothe fishermen community. But if these investmentsare made by the government and implemented welladvisedly, a considerable number of people in thecoastal communities will obtain gainfulemployment, add to the fishermen family incomeand reducing their exclusive dependance on fishingfor livelihood. If these are implemented ascommunity facilities and managed by stake holdergroups, charging user fee for timely maintenance,will go a long way in providing good quality fishand products to the consumers – domestic andabroad. This will also effect considerable valuesavings and value addition. If properly managed,this will ensure better returns to the primaryproducers – the fishermen. Similar communityfacilities can be set up in places with justifiablesupply of fish – the fishing harbours, landing centersand clusters of fish farms. The activities involvedcan be undertaken by stakeholder groups such asS.H.Gs and Co-ops.Pricing and marketing interventions

Transparent, straight forward trading practicesand institutional financing of fishing and handlingoperations are absolutely essential to ensure betterreturns to fishermen and healthy development ofthe industry. At present pricing and qualityassessment at landing and trading points are highlyarbitrary. There is no fair arbitrator for price andquality. The State government will do well to put inplace Fish Price and Quality Assurance Authority(FPQAA) with statutory support with Prices andQuality Arbitrators at action points, withstakeholder committees to oversee theirperformance.Import inspection

At present, there is no system in place to regularlycheck the import consignments regarding thespecies, quality and quantity, contamination by

foreign microbes not permitted in the country aswell as antibiotics & pollutants and the origin ofthe fish. Very few samples are being sent to CIFTfor some of the above factors but it has not beenmade mandatory. Again the procedures are alsonot well laid down. Therefore, it is absolutelyessential that a Fishery Import Regulatory Authority,with properly laid down procedures and parametersmentioned above, is to be established and madeoperational before imports are allowed.Central subject and the State ‘subjects’

International trade being a central subject, theGovernment in the Ministry of Commerce isconcerned about the fish only till it reaches the seaand airports of the country. Once it crosses theState’s boundaries, fish becomes a state subjectand is the concern of the State Governments. Ifthe fish reaches the local markets either in fresh orprocessed condition, it could heavily impact thedomestic fish prices and thereby the returns offishermen and fish farmers for their own produce.Again there already are problems including healthhazards posed by contaminated fish reachingKerala from neighbouring states. Hence the StateFisheries Departments (DoF), should take uponthemselves the task of monitoring the movement offish from the point of import, processing plants,marketing chains till the consumer. The DoF shouldalso verify the quantity of fish imported by aprocessor, quantity re-exported as well asproduction losses and wastages. Sales of ‘secondquality’ fish and products in the domestic marketshould be banned.

Processors and exporters should be made toenter into forward contracts with fishermen societies,groups and boat owners based on the demand,price situation and currency situation. This canbe implemented through the Fish Price and QualityAssurance Act and Rules. If the fishermen have abefore hand knowledge of the possible price he willget, he can exercise the two options intelligently tofish or not to fish. He can go fishing when he canexpect good returns and refrain from fishing whenthe returns are not too good and thus save a lot ofoperational costs and precious fuel. Assuringfishermen’s welfare and social security as well asincentivising him for refraining from fishing will bean ideal tool in conservation of fish stocks, reducingwastage of fuel and to immunize them from the ill-effects of FTAs to a great extent. l

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he pelagic fishes live most part of their life in thesurface or subsurface waters. This group exhibitsrich species diversity and abundance in the IndianEEZ. Though 240 species constitute the pelagic

fisheries along the Indian coast, it is only about 60 speciesbelonging to 8 groups support major fisheries (Table1).During the last decade, pelagic finfishes contributed to 46-56% (average: 51%) of the total marine fish production, ofwhich almost 70% was fished from within the 50 m depthzone (Table 2). Small pelagics such as the Indian oil sardine,Indian mackerel and Bombay- duck contributed 26% of thetotal marine fish landings (1990-2005). The dependence ofa large number of artisanal fishers and the coastal populationon the pelagic fisheries underlines the socio-economicimportance of these low value fishes. Besides these, largegrowing pelagic fishes such as tunas, billfishes, seerfishesand pelagic sharks are high unit value fishes contributingsignificantly to the export earnings of the country.Unique biological characteristics:

The pelagics (except pelagic sharks) are characterized bycertain unique combination of biological features, whichinclude formation of large schools, feeding on plankton ornekton, fast growth rate and short life span (0.5-4 years).Most of them are either continuous spawners or haveprolonged spawning periods with high fecundity. Many ofthem are migratory and generally show shoaling behaviour.The most prominent feature of the pelagic fisheries is theirextreme annual fluctuations.

T

N.G.K. Pillai* & U.Ganga **

PelagicFisheries

ofIndia

* Principal Scientist & HODCentral Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi –18

. . . it is clear thatthe pelagic

fisheries is animportant

contributor to thelivelihood and

nutritional securityof both coastal

fishers,consumers and

the resources haveto be optimallyand sustainably

harvested.

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Mode of exploitationCanoes, Pablo type boats, catamarans, trawlers

and purseseiners are used in the exploitation ofpelagic resources. The gears used are purse seine,ring seine, shoreseine, boatseine, gillnet, drift gillnet,hooks & line, troll line, pole & line and dol net.Considerable quantities of pelagic fishes are alsolanded by pair trawls and high-opening fish trawlnets operated from the shrimp trawlers as well asgillnets of various mesh sizes operated frommotorized/mechanized crafts.

Production trendsA comparison of the

average annual product-ion of major pelagic finfishgroups from the initialstages of mechanization in1960s through the 80s to1994, shows an increasingtrend with respect to all thegroups. Compared to1960s, the productionalmost doubled or eventhribled with respect tomany groups in the1980s, but since late1990s catches havestabilized (Fig.1). Theincreased production inthe early eighties could beattributed mainly to theintroduction of purseseinefishing, while that of thelate eighties and ninetiesto the motorisation ofcountry crafts, introduct-ion of innovative gearslike ringseine andcommencement of stay-over fishing. Substantialincrease was noticed inthe case of Anchovies,Bombay-duck, Tunas andBillfishes till 1992 and thatof Ribbonfishes andMackerel til l 1993-94while Oil sardine andMackerel showed only

marginal increase.The average annual pelagic fish landings (1990

–2005) is given in Table 3. Region- wise, thesouthwest coast (Goa, Karnataka and Kerala) ismost productive (41%) followed by the northwest(Gujarat and Maharashtra 25%), southeast (Tamilnadu, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh 23%) andnortheast (West Bengal and Orissa 11%). The trendof exploitation of pelagic stocks by the non-mechanised (traditional), motorised traditional andmechanised sectors are given in ensuing Table 4.

Fig. 1. Trend in major pelagic landings (in tons) in India, 1961- 2005

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Table 1. Details of major families of pelagic fishes and species/groupsFamily Group/species Number of species

Clupeidae Oil sardine* 1Lesser sardines* 14(including rainbow sardines)Hilsa spp. & other shad 15Whitebaits* 24Thryssa and Thrissocles spp. 10Wolf herrings 2Other clupeids 40

Scombridae Coastal tunas 5Oceanic tunas 3Seerfishes & wahoo 5Mackerels* 3

Trichiuridae Ribbonfishes* 8 Carangidae* Round scads 2

Golden scads 6Hardtail scad (or horse mackerel) 1Jacks 17Black pomfret 1Others 19

Harpodontidae Bombay-duck* 2 Stromateidae Pomfrets 2 Coryphaenidae Dolphinfishes 2 Rachycentridae Cobia 1 Mugildae Mullets 22 Sphyraenidae Baracudas 7 Exocoetidae Flying fishes 10 Bregmacerotidae Unicorn cod 1

Others 19

Total pelagics 242

*Annual catches exceed 1 lakh tons

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Table 2. Growth in pelagic fish production from 1950 to 2005Period Production (tonnes) Relative growth (%)

Pelagics Overall Pelagics Overall1950-59 362,548 618,501 - -1960-69 527,211 814,721 + 45 + 311970-79 643,142 1,243,707 + 22 + 271980-89 819,093 1,579,836 + 27 + 271990-99 1,116,792 2,258,874 + 36 + 432000-05 1,326,055 2,516,608 +19 +11Source: Pillai and Pillai (2000)

Groups Catch (T) %Oilsardine 236214 18.60Mackerel 162540 12.80Carangids 141169 11.11Ribbonfish 135749 10.69Anchovies 115013 9.05Bombay duck 111302 8.76Lesser sardine 96780 7.62Other pelagic 77310 6.09Other clupeids 47328 3.73Tunas & billfishes 47271 3.72Seerfish 44015 3.46Hilsa 26066 2.05Wolfherring 15284 1.20Baracuda 14258 1.12Total pelagics 1270299

Source: CMFRI

Table 3.Average landings of pelagic finfishes (in tonnes) and their

percentage contribution during 1990 – 2006.

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Status of pelagic fishery resourcesThe landing pattern of the pelagics can be

categorized as follows: (a) fisheries which havefluctuated very widely (Oil sardine, Bombay- duckand Indian mackerel); (b) fisheries which haveincreased the landings fairly consistently (Lessersardines, Hilsa spp., Whitebaits, Thryssa spp.,Coilia dussumieri, Carangids and Ribbonfishes);and (c) the only pelagic fishery which has declined(unicorn cod Bregmaceros mclellandi).Indian oil sardine

The Indian oil sardine is a very important pelagicfish species which contribute to about 15% of thetotal marine fish production in the country. The oilsardine fishery has been most strikinglycharacterized by wide fluctuations in the annuallandings from the very early years of exploitation.The resuscitation of the oil sardine stock after anever-lowest landing of 47,000 T in 1994 wasmanifest from the heavy recruitment that followed,which culminated to a highest production of 4.04lakh tonnes in 2003. Since late 80s it has becomean established fishery on the east coast with theaverage (1985 to 1996) annual landings of the Oilsardine on the west coast being 128,282 t (86%)and the east coast 21,262 T (14%). Till the end of1970s, artisanal fishing gears mainly boat andbeach seines, cast nets and small meshed gill netswere the major gears operated along the southwestcoast. With the introduction of mass harvestinggears like purse-seines in the late 70s and ring seinesin the late 80s along with a steady rise in themotorization of the traditional fishing crafts, manyof these traditional fishing methods have become

redundant. Along the east coast mainly boat-seines,gillnets and bag nets dominate.

The lesser sardines comprise several species ofSardinella contribute to a lucrative fishery alongthe southeast and southwest coasts. The dominantspecies contributing the fishery are Sardinellaalbella, S.gibbosa S.fimbriata, S.sirm and S.dayi.The traditional, motorized and mechanized craftsemploy a variety of seines, gill nets and trawls toexploit the lesser sardines .Anchovies

The anchovies constituted by five genera viz.Stolephorus, Coilia, Setipinna, Thryssa andThryssina constitute seasonal fisheries mostly alongthe coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,Karnataka and Maharashtra. Among Anchovies,Whitebaits (Stolephorus and Encrasicholina spp.)are dominant contributing 48% (average 1985 –2003) followed by Coilia dussumieri (24%),Thryssa (26%) and Settipinna (2%).The Indian mackerel

The mackerel fishery comprises a single speciesviz., R. kanagurta. However, R.brachysoma and R.faughni also are reported to occur in the catchesalong the east coast. Till 1980s, exploitation of theresource in the upwelling areas of the southwestcoast of India was mainly restricted to the post-monsoon period by traditional crafts using smallsurface gears like shore-seine, boat-seine andgillnets made of cotton or hemp up to 20-m depth.With the introduction of motorization and purse-seine and ring- seines in the early eighties, theindigenous fishery has undergone a major upheaval

Table 4. Sector- wise effort, catch & catch/hr of pelagic groups in respect of non-motorized(traditional), motorized and mechanised units in India during 1999-2005

Mechanized Motorized Non-motorized(traditional)Total catch (T) 763994 550911 227498Effort (AFH)(hr) 17435308 17697995 10961736Effort (Units ) 1076745 4102995 3015025% contribution 49.5 35.7 14.8Catch/hour (kg) 44 32 22Source: Pillai, 2006.

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with heavy catches of Juveniles even during themonsoon period. This large scale exploitation ofthe juveniles is the key factor which limits the yieldfrom the Mackerel stock. Under the present length,at first capture (140 mm), maximum sustainableyield from the resource is 2.2 lakh tonnes.Tunas and Bill fishes

Tuna production along the mainland coastfluctuated between 30,285 t (1987) and 54,007 T(2000) with an annual average production of41,443t forming 3.6% of the total pelagic fishproduction.Of the 8 major species of tunasoccurring along the Indian coast, five are coastal/neretic and three are oceanic and migratory. Thecommonly occurring coastal tuna species areEuthynnus affinis (little tuna), Auxis thazard (frigatetuna), A.rochei (bullet tuna), Sarda orientalis(oriental bonito), Thunnus tonggol (long tail tuna)while oceanic species include Katsuwonus pelamis(skipjack tuna),T. albacares (yellowfin tuna) andT.obesus (bigeye). Four genera of billfishesIstiophorus, Makaira and Tetrapturus (familyIstiophoridae) and Xiphias (family Xiphilidae) occurin the Indian seas and occur as by-catch in thegillnet/hook & line fishery for tunas. Drift gill nets,purseseine and the hooks and line are popular fortuna fishing by mainland fishermen while pole &line and troll lines are operated in Lakshadweepseas targeting Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna.Seerfishes

The annual seerfish catch showed an increasingtrend during the past five decades with fluctuationsranging from a mere 4505 T in 1953 to an all timepeak of 54,998 T in 2003 with the increase alongthe west coast being remarkable. They contributejust 1.85% of the marine fish production but owingto high unit value are major sources of income forgill net and hooks & line fishermen. Out of the fourspecies viz., the king seer (Scomberomoruscommerson), the spotted seer (S.guttatus), streakedseer (S.lineolatus) and the wahoo (Acanthocybiumsolandri), the fishery is sustained by the first twospecies.Carangids

Carangids have emerged as one of the importantpelagic fish groups landed by the mechanized sectorand the average annual production (1985-2003)

was 133,000 T which constituted 4% of the totalmarine fish production. There are 46 species ofcarangids occurring along the Indian coast butcommercial fisheries comprise mainly of horsemackerel (Megalaspis cordyla), round scads(Decapterus dayi, D.macrosoma), selar scads (Selarcrumenophthalmus), queenfishes (Carangoidesspp.), trevallies (Caranx para, C.carangus,Selaroides leptolepis), leatherjackets(Scomberoides spp.) and pompanos (Trachinotusspp.). The fisheries are mostly seasonal coincidingwith the monsoon and largely from 60 –80 m depthsalong the mainland coast and 20 - 40 m in Andamanseas. Exploitation is carried by a variety of gearssuch as trawl nets, drift and bottom-set gill nets,hooks and line, shore seines, ringseines andpurseseines.Ribbonfishes

The ribbonfishes (hair-tail or cutlass) are widelydistributed along the Indian coast and form majorpelagic fishery resources of the Indian seas. Theaverage Ribbonfish production in 60s was 28,171T,which increased to 65,360 T during the 80s to120,461 T during 1990s. The average productionduring 2001-2005 was 159,352 T (Fig.7). Trichiuruslepturus is the dominant species (>95%) in theFishery. Species such as T. russelli, Lepturacanthussavala, L.gangeticus, Eupleurogrammus muticusand E. glossodon have also been recorded in theIndian waters. The major gears are trawls (70%)followed by the bagnets, gillnets and the purseseines.Nearly 64% of the Ribbonfish landed annually inIndia are exported in frozen form to China, Japanand other southeast Asian countries, the remainingbeing either routed for the domestic fresh fishmarket or sun-dried. The development of exportmarket has led to targeted fishing for Ribbonfishesand to a certain degree of unsustainable exploitationespecially on the east coast, as evidenced fromincreasing component of juvenile Ribbonfishes intrawl landings.Bombay-duck

Bombay-duck constitutes a fishery of highmagnitude along the northwest coast and areconspicuously absent on the southwest andsoutheast coasts. They form a seasonal fishery onthe northeast coast (West Bengal, Orissa and thenorthern part of Andhra Pradesh). The gillnets,

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boatseines and trawls are also employed in thisfishery. Though Harpadon nehereus was the solecontributor along the northwest coast, anotherspecies H. squamosus has been recently recordedoff Kakinada on the northeast coast.The Bombay-duck is highly perishable because of its high watercontent, and hence needs speedy disposal. Thebulk of the catch is sun-dried and sold in the interiormarkets while a small portion is converted intomanure. Laminated Bombay-ducks are in gooddemand in some foreign markets.Pomfrets

Pomfrets belonging to the family Stromateidae,comprises silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus) andthe Chinese pomfret (P.chinensis) which form about2% of all India marine fish landings. They arehighly relished table fishes and command high unitvalue in internal and export markets. Landings aremainly from Gujarat and Maharashtra on thenorthwest and Orissa on the northeast coasts. Onthe northwest coast, the principal gear exploitingthe adult pomfrets are drift gillnets (140-155 mmmesh size) while the dol-net essentially exploits thejuveniles. As the fishery on the northwest coastcollapsed during 1990s, restriction of dol-netoperations to minimise recruitment overfishing andregulation of gillnets to minimise growth overfishingwas recommended as management measures tobe urgently implemented. Recently, the CMFRIrecommended minimum legal weight (MLW) of 300g for export of pomfrets have been implemented byDAH D&F, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of Indiawhich can go a long way in ensuring thesustainability of the fishery.Other Pelagics

The Hilsa shad (Hilsa ilisha) form a prominentfishery in the northeast coast.The Baracudas(seapikes) fishery in India comprises four species,Sphyraena obtusata, S.baracuda, S.jello andS.forsteri. The unicorn cod (Bregmocerosmcclellandi) fishery is observed on the northwestcoast but catches are dwindling.The flyingfishfishery is seasonal and limited to the Coromandelcoast in Tamil Nadu supported mainly by the speciesHirundichthys coramandelensis. Clupeids such asthe wolfherring (Chirocentrus dorab), Rainbowsardine (Dussumiera spp.), Escualosa, Ilisha,Nematalosa, Opisthopterus, Pellona, Reconda,Dorosoma, Chanos etc. form minor fisheries

constituting about 1.6 % of the total all Indialandings. The mullets (Mugil spp.) form a fisherymainly in the northwest region, which contributedan annual average of 6056 T during 1999-2005.Research Priorities in the Managementof Pelagic FisheriesImpact of environment on pelagic fisheries

There is strong evidence that annual variationsin the year class strength of pelagic fishes inupwelling areas are governed mainly byoceanographic factors such as upwelling intensity,offshore water transport and water column stabilityand each year the success of pelagic fisheries is adelicate balance between physical oceanographicfactors and effects of fishing on the stock.

Seawater temperature, dissolved oxygen levels,salinity, phytoplankton and zooplanktonconcentrations play a vital role in controlling thedistribution and abundance of pelagic fisheryresources. The global warming phenomenon hasbeen observed to have significant impact on thechange in distribution and abundance patterns ofthe pelagics like Oil sardine and Mackerel alongthe Indian coast as manifest in their movementtowards more northern latitudes in recent years.Parameters like Sea Surface Temperature (SST)and phytoplankton pigments (Chlorophyll a)obtained from satellites and available with agencieslike the Indian National Centre for OceanInformation Services (INCOIS) are used inprediction of Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) for thebenefit of the fishermen. Thus, fishery environmentdata has become crucial to addressing productivityof fishing grounds, annual/long term fluctuationsin fish catches and making fishery forecasts andhas to be further researched to find practicalsolutions for fisheries management purposes.Fish migration

Most of the pelagic finfish species move in largeshoals and exhibit certain characteristic migratorypattern. While the small pelagics like Sardines andAnchovies perform migrations along the coast,Mackerels, Scads and Coastal Tunas migrate fairlylong distances between inshore and offshore waters.Therefore understanding the migratory patterns ofpelagics is crucial for planning a successful fisheryand its management. Tagging and recovery is the

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best way to study migration and growth of pelagicfishes for which sophisticated acoustic andtelemetric tags have been developed. These allowcontinuous observations of the behaviour andmovements of tagged fish and this information canbe gainfully applied for fishing as well as resourcemanagement activities.Fish recruitment dynamics and modelling

Fluctuations in pelagic fish landings are partlydue to recruitment variations. Many of the world’sgreatest fisheries particularly for pelagics like thesardines have collapsed owing to recruitment failurecaused by high fishing pressure on the spawningstock. There is also a significant influence ofenvironment in determining the recruitment successof pelagic species every year. Hence, time seriesdata on its fishery, fecundity and condition indicesare invaluable in developing models to forecastrecruitment variations and its impact on fisheries.Future prospects of pelagic fisheries

The Working Group on the Revalidation ofPotential yield of Marine fisheries of the Indian EEZ(Anon., 2000 ) indicated potential yield of pelagicresources from the Indian EEZ as 1.67 milliontonnes of which an average 1.4 million tonnes isharvested mostly from within the 50 m depths.Though a progressive trend is noticeable inproduction of some pelagics such as Carangids andRibbonfishes, many of them, especially the Oilsardine, Mackerel, Bombay-duck, Seerfishes andCoastal Tunas have reached the optimum level ofexploitation in the conventional inshore fishinggrounds. The stock assessment studies conductedfor 20 species of exploited pelagic finfishes haveshown that the present effort expended is close toor in some cases even exceeded the level of MSYand further increase in effort in the coastal sectorwould be detrimental to sustain the yield and thereis not much scope of further increase in productionfrom this inshore zone. However, the potential yieldestimates of oceanic resources is 0.24 million Twhich is mainly constituted by the oceanic tunas(yellowfin, skipjack and bigeye) with lot of exportpotential especially in value added or Sashimi (foryellowfin and big eye tunas) form. Hence there isan urgent need to develop an oceanic pelagicfishery with appropriate infrastructure and policysupport from the government and fisheriesdevelopment agencies. Groups such as Whitebaits,

Carangids, Baracudas, Billfishes and PelagicSharks are also expected to contribute significantlyto the additional yield from beyond the conventionalfishing zone. There are also certain imbalances inpelagic fish landings vis-a vis their potential,especially on the north east coast of India wheredemersal fisheries especially shrimp trawling is givenmore importance which has to be addressed andcan lead to increased pelagic fish production forthe domestic market as well as export.

With regards to the small pelagics such as OilSardine, Mackerel and Anchovies, these are fisheswith a large domestic market and crucial to thenutritional security of a large coastal population inIndia. However, the unpredictable nature of theirfisheries has made their markets highly vulnerableto price fluctuations. A lot of valuable protein richfood is wasted during periods of high productiondue to lack of proper cold storage facilities andefficient domestic market network. Infrastructurefacilities for storage and transportation of thecatches to the interior markets require furtherstrengthening to handle surplus production ofpelagics. This aspect has to be looked into alongwith introduction and popularisation of costefficient processing techniques such as improvedsolar drying and smoking to produce value addedproducts, especially during periods of glut.Considerable knowledge exists in the country onproduct development for the affluent markets. Smallprocessing plants under community programmecould be established in specific locations. Highpriority should be given to reduce postharvest losses.

Also, with the advent of infrastructural facilitiessuch as fishing harbours, mechanized andmotorized crafts, fish finding equipments and moreefficient gears, it is observed that more than 50%of the pelagic finfish landings along the west coastof India during the months from July to October isconstituted of juveniles. This is unsustainable andrestrictions on small meshed gears such asringseines regarding mesh size regulation,minimum legal length at first capture, craft size andhorsepower, net size and area /period of operationare required. From the foregoing account, it is clearthat the pelagic fisheries is an important contributorto the livelihood and nutritional security of bothcoastal fishers, consumers and the resources haveto be optimally and sustainably harvested. l

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IFP Souvenir 2007

The Molluscanfishery of India

and its livelihoodEnhancement

potential

n ancient India, the molluscs were deeply associatedwith folklore, mythology, social customs and tradition,trade, handicraft and as currency. They were alsoused as ornaments, utility articles and medicine in

addition to the limited use as food item. The sacred chankand pearl oysters are closely linked with Hindu religionand mythology from time immemorial. Till recently chanks,pearl oysters, mussels, oysters and cephalopods were theonly molluscan resources exploited on commercial basis.In recent years cephalopods and other molluscs areemerging as important component of fishery resources ofIndia contributing 4-5 % of total fish landings. The demandfor cephalopods and few other edible bivalves andgastropods for export trade has also increased substantially.The molluscan shells of several species are in good demand,both for ornamental trade and also for industrial use. Inaddition to this, the organized efforts from the governmentagencies and research institutions in the country helped toincrease the production of bivalves by adopting scientificfarming in coastal waters. The major molluscan resourcesof India are cephalopods, clams, edible mussels and oysters,pearl oysters, windowpane oysters, sacred chank, whelks,top and turban shells and a variety of ornamentalgastropods.Cephalopod resources

The exploited cephalopod resources of India aremainly squids, cuttlefishes and octopods. Among squids,the neretic Indian squid Loligo duvauceli formed bulk ofthe catch, Sepia aculeata and S. pharonis contributed major

I

The shell craftindustry offers

partimeemployment for

women in makinggarlands,

evechains,decorative table

lamps, shellcurtains, rings,bath stand etc..

using a variety ofmolluscan shells.

*Principal Scientist & HOD (Retd)Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute

K.K. Appukuttan*

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IFP Souvenir 2007

share of cuttlefishes and the octopus catch wasmainly from Octopus membranaceous and O.dolfossi. More than 80% of the cephalopodlandings is from west coast and major share isfrom Gujarat and Maharashtra. There was aphenominal growth of cephalopod landings from91T in 1961 to 1,11,534 T in 2000. The averagelandings in 1981-85 was 19,000 T contributing1.3% of total Indian marine fisheries landings. Thishas increased to an average 45,000 T in 1986-95and further increased to 1,06,000 T in 1996-2000period contributing 4.1 % of total landings. Thisincreasing trend can be attributed to theintroduction of mechanized trawling in inshorewaters and also to the increasing export demand.The potential yield estimated in 2000 forcephalopods is 1,01,259 T and the current yield is1,12,762 T (2004) This indicate that the exploitedstock has reached the optimum level. Trawl netoperated up to 100 m depth yield 85 % of thecephalopod landings in India. Other gears used forcephalopod exploitation are hook and line, boatseine and purse seine. Recent deep sea trawlfishing beyond 100 m yielded oceanic squids andit is assumed that huge potential for nereticcephalopods exists. Bulk of the production ofcephalopods is exported and very little consumedlocally. The estimated export of frozen cuttlefishesand squids in 2004-2005 was 92363 kg worth951.27 crore rupees. The annual average exportof frozen and dried cephalopods form 25% of thetotal Indian marine export. The main markets forIndian cephalopods are Europe, Japan, and China.Bivalve resources

The important groups of bivalves exploited areclams, mussles, edible oysters, pearl oysters andwindowpane oysters. Clams rank first inabundance and they contribute almost 80% of thetotal bivalve production. Recently researchers havedeveloped suitable mariculture technologies forfarming fast growing species of mussles and edibleoysters in coastal waters of India. The pearlproduction technique was also developed in Indianpearl oysters. Through experimental farming andrepeated demonstrations bivalve farming isbecoming popular in the coastal areas of thecountry.

ClamsClams are widely distributed in the intertidal

coastal waters, estuaries and backwaters of Indiacontributing subsistence fisheries. They are handpicked or dredged using hand dredges by men,women and children in the coastal areas. Theimportant species of clams exploited are Villoritacyprinoides (Black clam), Meretrix casta (Yellowclam), Meretrix meretrix, Paphia malabarica (Short–neck clam), Mercia opima (Baby clam) and Anadaragranosa (Blood clam). Giant clam. Tridacnamaxima, T. squamosa, T. crocea and Hippopushippopus are available in Andaman and NicobarIslands. Giant clams are now protected speciesunder the schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection)Act 1972 of Ministry of Environment and Forestand hence no exploitation. Among all the maritimestates, Kerala contributes a maximum landings ofclams mainly from Vemband and Ashtamudiestuaries.

Black clam Villorita cyprinoides is exploitedmainly from many estuaries of Goa, Kalinadi,Agnashini, Coondapur, Swarna & Udayavara inKarnataka; Kozhikode, Vembanad and Ashtamudilake in Kerala. Of all these areas, Vembanad lakein Kerala contributed the maximum (96%). Theannual catch fluctuate from 1,1652T in 1985 to42026 T in 2004. Narasimham (1993) estimatedsubfossil, limeshell deposit in Karnataka estuariesas 62,000T, in Vembanad lake in Kerala as1,48,000 T, in Pulicut lake, Tamilnadu as 5500Tand from other sources as 5500T with annualproduction ratio of 27800T. The black clam isexploited by hand picking and dredging using handdredges operated from canoes. Sub-fossil depositsare mainly collected using hand operated dredgesand mechanical dredges. The black clam shell andlime shell exploited are mainly used for cementindustry and calcium carbide industry. The meatyield of these species is almost 10% andunfortunately the meat is not fully utilized for ediblepurpose. A meagre portion is used for ediblepurpose and the rest is either used as fish /shrimpfeed or simply discarded. Indiscriminate fishing ofjuvenile clams is a serious threat in all the estuariesfor black clam fishery leading to the depletion ofexisting stock. Relaying method of clam farming issuggested to replenish the stock in all the estuaries.

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IFP Souvenir 2007

The short-neck clam Paphia malabarica isexploited from Uppunda, Coondapur, Udayavaraand Mulky estuaries in Karnataka and Ashtamudi,Kayamkulam, Dharmadam and Padanne estuariesin Kerala. This species is commercially importantsince the clam meat export from India fully dependson this species at present. The export of short-neckclam meat started in 1984 with a meagre quantityand the present annual export is around 400-500tearning 3-4 crores rupees as foreign exchange. 80%of the clam meat exported is from Ashtamudiestuary, Kerala. The meat is heat shucked andfrozen for exports.

Blood clam Anadara granosa is being exploitedfrom Kakinada Bay (Andhra Pradesh) with anannual yield of 1200-1300t. Yellow clam Meretrixcasta is harvested from Karnataka estuaries,Agnashini, Uppunda, Coondapur, Sita, Udayavara,Mulky, Gurupur and Nethravathi and from Keralaestuaries, Kozhikode, Chettuva, Vembanad andAshtamudi. In the east coast, Vellar estuary,Muthukad and Pulicat in Tamilnadu andBheemunipatanam in Andhra Pradesh alsocontribute yellow clam fishery. Exploitation ofMeretrix meretrix is reported from Thane toRatnagiri in Maharashtra, Kalinadi, Agnashini,Uppunda, Coodapur and Sita estuaries inKarnataka and Kakinada bay and Godavariestuary in Andhra Pradesh. Mercia opima (Babyclam) production in India is around 500t annuallyand it is exploited in several creeks in Maharashtra,three creeks in Karnataka, Vellar estuary inTamilnadu and Kakinada Bay in Andhra Pradesh.Appukuttan et. al (1985) reported M.opima fisheryfrom Ashtamudi and the total catch for 1982-84period was 5436t. Later it was observed that thisfishery collapsed due to environmental changes andthis species was replaced by Paphia malabarica.Mussels

Two species of mussels, green mussel Pernaviridis and brown mussel P.indica are available inIndian coast and are exploited on commercial basisfor edible purpose. P.viridis has got a widerdistribution along Kerala, Karnataka, Goa,Maharashtra and also in Andamans. P.indica hasgot restricted distribution in south west coast of India

from Varkala to Kanyakumari. Kerala is consideredas the ‘mussel fishery zone’ of India since extensivenatural mussel leds are available in the MalabarCoast and exploitation is done from timeimmemorial. The total annual mussel productionvaries from 10,000T to 15,000T of which 80% iscontributed by P.viridis from Northern Kerala. Inearly 70’s the Central Marine Fisheries ResearchInstitute, Kochi developed simple, eco-friendlyfarming techniques through experiments anddemonstration trials in different parts of the countryin the coastal waters and estuaries. Repeateddemonstration with full participation of fisher folkhas proved this technology successful and the farmergroups started adopting mussel farming in estuariesand coastal waters. This has become a successfulgroup farming activity by Self Help Groups ofMalabar coast with technical support from CMFRI,BFFDA, ADAK and financial assistance from Co-operative banks and other financial institutions.Adoption of the technology was easy since it wassimple, low cost, require no additional feed,ecofriendly, short culture period of 4-6 months andgood market demand. The production of greenmussel through farming was 2t in 1996 and thishas reached 7500t in 2006 mainly through groupfarming activities in Kerala.Edible oyster

Out of 6 species of edible oysters recorded fromIndian coasts, the Indian edible oyster Crassostreamadrasensis, C.rivularis, C.gryphoides andSaccostrea cucullata are commercially exploited.C.madrasensis is widely distributed and ranks firstin abundance and exploitation. The standing stockof this species is estimated as 27,000T from Keralaand Andhra Pradesh (Narasimham, 1993).C.gryphoides is found in exploitable quantities inKarnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat.S.cucullata is widely distributed in marine intertidalzone all along the mainland of India and also inAndaman and Nicobar Islands. The estimatedannual production is only 2000T from the wild.Demonstration of farming technique of oysters inestuaries of Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra wasdone by the Central Marine Fisheries ResearchInstitute and subsequently this simple method ofoyster farming is being taken up by farmer groups

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IFP Souvenir 2007

(SSG’s) in all these maritime states. In southernpart of Kerala many women SSG’s have taken upoyster farming with the support of Governmentagencies like BFFDA, ADAK and Matsyafed.Pearl Oyster

Out of the seven species of pearl oysters recordedfrom India, Pinctada fucata, P.margaritifera andP.maxima produce pearls of good quality. Naturalpearl beds were in existence from time immemorialin Gulf of Mannar and Gulf of Kutch and regularpearl fishery existed in these areas till 1966. Thepearl fishery Gulf of Mannar dates back to 2000years and after 1966 this fishery collapsed and tilldate it is not revived. Observing the failure of pearlfishery in Gulf of Mannar and Gulf of Kutch, theCentral Marine Fisheries Research Institutedeveloped techno-economically viable pearlproduction methods in P.fucata. The technology wastested successfully through experimental trials, pilotprojects and demonstration programmes. Eventhen, the pearl production has not been taken upas a commercial venture. The longer gestationperiod for pearl production, smaller size of pearlsproduced, uninterrupted supply of pearl oyster seed,lack of leasing policy for pearl farming and lack ofprotected areas for farming were some of the factorsaffecting commercialization. Meanwhile the CentralMarine Fisheries Research Institute has upgradedthe technology and succeeded in producing >6mmpearls in west coast, production of in vitro pearlsusing tissue culture technology, production of imageor mabe pearls and also hatchery production ofpearl oyster seed. The Central Institute of FisheriesTechnology, Kochi has developed technology forproduction of pearl nucleus using indigenousmolluscan shells. P.margaritifera, the black-lip pearloyster is available in Andaman and Nicobar Islandsand attempts are being made to produce blackpearls from this species.Windowpane Oysters

Windowpane oyster Placenta placenta wasexploited on commercial basis from Gulf of Kutch,Nauxin Bay (Goa) and Kakinada Bay yieldingapproximately 10000 to 11000T every year. Inaddition to these places it occurs in Malabar coast,Tuticorin, Nagapatanam and Andamans. Thisspecies is now brought under protected species of

endangered animals under schedule I of Wildlife(Protection) Act 1972 brought into force from July,2001 by Govt. of India. Commercial exploitationof this species is not done now. The shell of thisbivalve is used to manufacture many curios in shellcraft industry and it produces tiny pearls of goodquality, mainly used as medicine.Gastropod Resources

The major gastropod resources exploited oncommercial basis or forming past of by catch ofshrimp tranters are sacred chank Xancus pyrum,Top and Turbo shells of Andaman and NicobarIslands, Welks Babylonia spirata and B.Zelanica,Chicoreus ramosus and number of ornamentalgastropods used in shell craft industry.Sacred Chanks

Among gastropods Xancus pyrum, the sacredchank is the most important resource in terms of itseconomic importance, fishery and abundance. Atleast 5 varieties of sacred chanks are fished aroundIndian coasts based on its variations in the shellmorphology mainly due to environmentalcharacteristics. Chank fishery exists in Gulf ofMannar, Tanjavur, South Arcot and Chingelpet inTamilnadu, Thiruvananthapuram coast in Kerala,Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat and Andaman and NicobarIslands. Chanks are collected mainly by skin divingin East Coast along the Thirunelveli andRamanathapuram coast during fair season. On theThiruvananthapuram coast also divers collect chankduring fair season. In addition, in certain years,longlines were exclusively used for chank collectionin Thiruvananthapuram coast. Chanks are alsocaught in set gillnets and tramelnets as by catch.Alagarswami and Meyyappan (1989) estimated anaverage chank production from Indian coasts as1,25,600 nos of which 70% is from Tamilnadu coast.Devaraj and Ravichandran (1988) estimated thepotential stock of chanks from Gulf of Mannar as 2million adult chanks of which only 44.83% is beingexploited. The chank fishery is controlled by stategovernments by issuing license for collection bydiving.

The chanks are mainly used for manufacture ofshell bangles which has got a ready market inBengal. Women of Bengal wear chank banglefollowing a very old Hindu custom. The sinistral

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IFP Souvenir 2007

chank, a rare freak chank with left side operculamopening is considered very much sacred and thereis a good demand for this shell in Hindu templesfor worship. The chank shell is also used for makingcurios. The operculam of chank is used for makingincense sticks and glue and has got export demand.Whelks

Babylonia commonly known as whelk shells or‘Baiga’ is an edible gastropod caught mainly asbycatch of shrimp trawlers. Two species of whelks,B. spirata and B. zelanica are exploited from Indianwaters. These two species are caught in goodquantities at Sakthikulangara- Neendakara area inKerala. These species are also reported from Gulfof Mannar, Poompuhar, Nagapattanam, Chennaiand waters around Andaman and Nicobar Islands(Ayyakannu 1994). The total quantity of whelktrade during 1993 - 94 was 300 tonnes and itincreased to 500-600 T during 1995 –96. Thisedible gastropod is an important food species andis exported in frozen condition to Japan. The exportof whelk from India started in 1984 and it reached703 T in 2001, fetching 4 crore rupees. Theoperculum of this species is also collected and soldfor export.Top and Turban shells

Trochus niloticus (top shell) and Turbomarmoratus (Turban shell/ greensnail) was exploitedfrom Andaman and Nicobar islands till recently.There was a regular shell fishery in the islandscontrolled by the Government up to 2001. Theaverage annual landing for top shell was estimatedas 400-600T and for turban shell 100-150T. 9fishing zones covering entire Andaman andNicobar islands were leased out regularly forfishing of turbo and top shells. In recent yearsthere was drastic decline in the total catch of boththe shells due to over exploitation and they werebrought under endangered species by Governmentof India under the schedule I of Wildlife (Protection)Act 1972 and exploitation of this resource wasstopped. The shells of both the species are used byshell craft industry for making curious and there isexcellent demand for both the species in the localmarket and for export. The shell is used formanufacture of buttons, decorative inlay works andjewellery. A large, cleaned, turbo shells now cost300-500 rupees and top shell 100-150 rupees.

Ornamental gastropod shellsA variety of ornamental gastropod shells are

caught as bycatch in the shrimp trawlers. Philipand Appukuttan (1995) recorded 29 species ofornamental gastropods from Sakthikulangara –Neendakara as bycatches in shrimp trawlers.Ramanathapuram coast in Tamilnadu is well knownfor ornamental shell resources and there are at leasta dozen shell craft industries in Rameswaram,manufacturing a variety of shell craft products. FromLakshadweep Islands and from Andaman andNicobar Islands many ornamental shells arecollected and traded. The shells collected are graded,processed and sent to important shell craft centersin Tamilnadu, Pondicherry, Goa and Kerala.Garlands, eve chains, necklaces, earrings, studs,rings, bangles, table lamps, bath stands, ashtrays,keychains pendants and shell curtain are made outof these ornamental shells. Already there is goodmarket for these curious items in the major touristcenters of the country and a small scale export ofornamental shell also exists.Livelihood potential

Bulk of the cephalopod production is from trawlnet operated in the 100m depth area around Indiancoast. Estimates made in 2001 indicate that 51,500mechanized crafts (mainly bottom trawlers, driftgill netters and purse seines) and 180 deep seafishing vessels of 25m OAL are engaged in fishingin this area. All these crafts, especially trawlers offeremployment opportunity for thousands of activefishermen. In addition to trawl fishing activity,cephalopod processing and marketing offeremployment opportunity for fishermen andlabourers. Trawl fishing beyond 100 m depth areaindicates higher potential for neretic cephalpodexploitation and this will add more employmentopportunity in coming years.

5000- 7000 persons are involved in clam pickingaround the country directly or indirectly for shellexploitation, processing and for marketing fromvarious water bodies. At present the clam meat,except Paphia malabarica is not fully utilized foredible purpose. It is estimated that the clam meatpercentage varies from 6-10 and if effective valueaddition is done the discarded meat from commonspecies viz, V.cyprinoides, M. casta and M. meretrix

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IFP Souvenir 2007

can be converted in to quality food products. Thiswill also open up employment opportunity andadditional income for rural population.Indiscriminate exploitation of juvenile clams fromestuaries and backwaters is another serious problemthreatening the existing stock of clams. It issuggested that scientific farming by adoptingrelaying method of clam seed can be prastised inall the water bodies where clams are beingexploited on commercial scale. This will alsoprovide employment opportunity for number offishermen and also lead to resource enhancement.Relaying of Paphia malabarica is now beingpracticed in Ashtamudi , Kerala by few farmers.

The mussel and edible oyster farming techniquesdeveloped, field tested and demonstrated by theCentral Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochiin coastal waters and estuaries of Kerala,Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra have been easilyadopted by the coastal population due to its easyand simple methodology. Right from 1996 onwardsKerala Government has approved these twomethods of farming as rural livelihood programmesand gave support for popularization throughBFFDA, Development of Women and Children inrural area (DWRDA). Integrated RuralDevelopment Programme (IRDP) and ADAK. In70’s and 80’s coastal aquaculture was centeredaround shrimp farming and right from 1991onwards aquaculture of shrimps faced set backsdue to disease problems and legal issues. At thisstage only, bivalve farming witnessed phenomenalgrowth especially in Kerala. The farming waspopularised mainly through women self help groupswith the help of local self government. The womenSelf Help Groups (SSG’s) with 11 to 15 memberswere given financial assistance through co-operatives or BFFDA with 30-50% subsidy. Thisactivity was initially centered around KasargodDistrict in Kerala for mussel farming and in KollamDistrict for edible oyster farming. The mostsignificant out come was women empowermentand additional employment opportunity forunemployed youth. In addition to that, the farmingactivity was taken up by more and more SSGs inKerala and became a popular activity amongcoastal population of 8 coastal districts. The mussel

production by culture has reached 75000T by 2006and edible oyster production 800T. Now musselfarming is practised by SSG’s in Kasargod, Kannur,Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam,Alappuzha and Kollam in Kerala, Ratnagiri inMaharashtra, Mulki and Byndoor in Karnataka.Similarly oyster farming is done in Kayamkulamand Ashtamudi estuaries in Kerala by SSG’s. NowGovernment agencies are giving importance forbivalve farming as a rural development activity anda source of livelihood improvement programme. Assuch, bivalve farming offers greater employmentopportunity and further value addition of musseland oyster will give additional employment in therural sector. Another area to be promoted is seedcollection of both oysters and mussel from the wildand supply to farms by farmers as a part – timeavocation. Though pearl oyster farming and pearlproduction have not yet been commercialized, thepossibilities of production of larger pearls (>6mm)in the west coast are bright. Added to that imagepearl or Mabe pearl production using the technologydeveloped by CMFRI offers greater scope forcommercial production of pearls and image pearls.Pearl production can be phased out into threeseparate components viz (1) Seed production (2)grow out and (3) pearl production. For eachcomponent SSG’s can be trained and this can besuccessfully implemented as a rural developmentprogramme with financial and technical supportfrom Government agencies.

The ornamental gastropod shells, offer excellentopportunity for shell handicraft trade in India.Already number of small scale manufacturers areengaged in shell trade in Ramanathapuram,Thirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Pondicherry and Goa.The shell craft industry offers partime employmentfor women in making garlands, evechains,decorative table lamps, shell curtains, rings, bathstand etc.. using a variety of molluscan shells.Number of artists and labourers are also engagedin shell processing and etching of shells for exports.Thousands of small scale traders are engaged inmarketing the shell products throughout Indiaespecially in the major tourist centres.

l