The overfishing along the coast of South-West India

This is just the firss raw draft.

The south-west coast of India consists mainly of two states, Karnataka and Kerala. Both of them belong to the richer regions (Kerala is one of the richest) of India and they play a leading role in india's fishing industry. Some of the fishing centers are Mangalore and Karwar in Karnataka and Kotchi in Kerala. Both regions have typical tropical climate and rich sea(arabian sea). There are numerous fish species living along the coast of south-west India, like prawns, sharks, dolphins, catfish, whitefish, silver pomfret and others. But some of them are seriously threatened by overfishing and for example the stocks of catfish were already depleted.

Overfishing is a global problem and all around the world we can see the depletion of the fish resources( fish is the biggest renewable resource). The modern fishing technics such as trawling or purse seining are devastating for the underwater environment. They cause huge damage to the sea bottom(trawling) and extreme bycatch of non commercial fish(trawling and purse seining). Another problem is catching the juveniles and thus preventing the suffering fish populations from recovering. In the world the industrial fisheries (factory freezer trawlers) cause most of the damage and small scale fisheries are seen like one of the solutions. But the overfishing in India is caused by the small scale fisheries themselfs.

For decades the government of India supported the deep sea fishing and funded the modernization of the fishing fleets especially in Karnataka and Kerala. This has led to the overexploitation of the local sea and growing economical, environmental and social costs. Fishing means the only livelihood for large number of people in South-west India. And the traditional artisnal fisher folk can not compete with the modern super-efficient fishing methods. This conflict has led to various violent conflicts between the trawler crews and local fisher folk, even claiming human lives.

As if there was not enough local issues there is also a illegal foreign fishing problem. It is against the law but the persecutions (mostly fines) are simply too soft. A huge fishing vessels such as factory freezer trawlers were spotted along the coast of South-West India, even as far as from Denmark. These trawlers are able to catch large quantities of fish, leaving the local fisherman with nothing.

In the past years the indian government has issued several laws protecting the local artisanal fisheries and the environment. But in India almost any law can be broken if you have sufficient funds (corruption). And in some cases the government was even encouraging the commercial trawlers to catch in the coastal waters reserved for the local fisher folk. The problem is that nothing can be accomplished when the government just soughts economical benefits. Fortunately this is changing and in the 2003-2004 the government of India banned any fishing along the west coast during the monsoon season (10th June to 15th August), which is the breeding season for most of the species. Sadly the indian reality is that now the traditional fisher folk violate this ban saying that it's their only opportunity to earn profit and living which is true. So in the end they were granted an exception. But this exception is preventing the fish stocks from replenishing.

One of the players in destroying indias sea wildlife is also Indian Navy. Just few kilometers from the coast of Karnataka, there is a Netrani Island. A place with rich biodiversity and one of the few coral reefs along west indian coast (discovered only in 2005). But this unique place serves as a training ground for the India Navy and the shooting practices are seriously damaging the local fragile ecosystem.

Sadly the overfishing is not the only problem of the South Indian waters. There is also a major pollution issue. India is the second fastest growing economy in the world but this success has it's price. The rivers and coastal waters are polluted by industrial dumping and high usage of pesticides (like DDT) and in the rich and industrial regions like Kerala and Karnataka double so. Another source of pollution is the overpopulation and even tourism. Because most of the human waste ends up in the sea. In Goa (north from Karnataka) which is one of the most touristic places in India, the sea water is known for being extra polluted.

I will do the conclusions as the last thing so they are not here yet.

Resources: Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. (UNEP)

Depleted and Collapsed Marine Fish Stocks along Southwest Coast of India ? A Simple Criterion to Assess the Status

The Hindu newspapaper

indiaenvironmentportal.org.in

Coastal Environments: problems and perspectives.