Booming commercial fisheries

Team members: Rajeswari B.T., Al Badush, Mayuresh Gangal, Rohan Arthur, Radhika Nair

Alumni: Rucha Karkarey, Stella James

Timeline: 2013 - present

Reef fish are an extremely important source of nutrition for coastal communities. They are also essential to the health of coral reef ecosystems and crucially, to their ability to recover from disturbance. Mostly slow-growing and long-lived, reef fish were traditionally caught for local consumption. Over the last decade or so, however,  these species are increasingly being harvested in large quantities for their commercial value in mainland and overseas markets. This project looks at what is driving the increasing commercial reef fishery and its impact on the ecosystem.

In the Lakshadweep islands, coconut farming was the mainstay of the islanders until the 1960s when the local Fisheries Department began encouraging tuna fishing through a method called “pole and line”. This was a better and more sustainable way of catching tuna and became a significant source of livelihood. The catch sizes increased so rapidly that fishers developed a method to preserve the fish and sell it as "mas meen”.

The next big development in Lakshadweep’s fishing industry came around 2011 when the government allowed collector boats from the mainland to buy fish from local fishers. These boats had large storage tanks that created large-scale demand for species other than skipjack tuna. This project documents the changing trends in species caught in the Lakshadweep. 

Project objectives:

• Understand species being caught through catch data from fishers

• Assess fish consumption patterns among households in the target islands

• Document species bought by collector boats travelling between the islands and the mainland 

Before the arrival of collector boats, fishers mostly only caught skipjack tuna from the open ocean commercially. With increasing demand, people turned to reef fishing as a supplementary activity and, without proper fishing regulations, this led to a kind of fishing frenzy. From skipjack tuna, reef species like emperors, groupers, sharks and snappers are also being caught.

From our analysis of household consumption patterns, we found that people’s dietary preferences towards reef fish remain unchanged. While earlier catch sizes were restricted by local demand, collector boats have presented fishermen with an opportunity to increase their catch sizes for an immediate profit.

In the past, there was a cultural norm against selling reef fish for money, but now, practicality and the opportunity for additional earnings have replaced these norms as Lakshadweep's economy has grown. Nonetheless, the growth and persistence of reef fishing in Lakshadweep cannot be explained solely by economic reasons.

This study attempts to explore the reasons for the growth and maintenance of the reef fishery industry in Lakshadweep, patterns of participation, and perceived reasons for its continuance by local fishing communities in Lakshadweep.

Project objectives:

Identifying socio-economic, cultural and other factors that drive the fishing industry in Lakshadweep Understand how decision-making around where to fish has changed over time

In the course of our work, we understood that the promise of economic gain from reef fish was not the only factor that influenced the change in fishers’ attitudes towards selling reef fish. The reality is much more complex as numerous factors, both within and out of their control, influence their day-to-day decisions about where to fish. 

A series of factors including low entry barriers, low skill requirement, low operating costs and, above all, convenience make reef fishing an attractive fall-back option. Adding to this, the recent switch in the fishery industry is driven more by norm creation, a democratisation of the fishery, and pragmatism. 

However, in the interest of the long-term survival of the fishery industry and ecosystem, communities adopt strong local institutions to ensure that resources are rationally, sustainably and fairly harvested. When these institutions do not exist or have fallen into disuse, resources are prone to being rapidly over-exploited. This can lead to a decline in ecosystem health and a subsequent loss of livelihood and well-being for dependent communities that need to be accounted for.

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented global event. It affected every sector and disrupted societies and economies worldwide. Lockdowns and travel restrictions forced many local businesses to close for months. Lakshadweep, though one of the last places in India to be hit by the pandemic, also faced its impact. Life came to a standstill, and the islands were cut off from the mainland.

Commercial fishing in Lakshadweep relies heavily on market demand, both locally and for exports. However, the pandemic disrupted the flow of goods. As part of our effort to understand the fisheries in the Lakshadweep, we looked into what happened to this industry when the collector-boats from the mainland stopped coming.

Project objective:

To document the impacts of COVID-19 on the fisheries of Lakshadweep by evaluating catch data from fishers

Fisheries in Lakshadweep have seen a diversification from pelagic skipjack tuna to a variety of other species from the open ocean and the nearby coral reef. However, the large-scale demand for reef fish is conditional on the presence of collector boats that transport catch back to mainland markets in ice holds. Due to the pandemic, these collector boats were no longer permitted to travel to the Lakshadweep, and fishers had to find other means to sell their catch.

Once collector boats stopped coming and the regional authorities restricted fish sales in the local market, fishermen tried selling directly to households. But they could not sell all their catch. To cut their losses, fishers turned to catching skipjack tuna, which can be dried and preserved. However, the pandemic caused the price of dried tuna to drop significantly, dealing a severe blow to the fishery. Yet, people still choose to catch mostly tuna.

Reef fishing is a precarious business and makes fishers completely dependent on collector boats. As the pandemic showed, the restriction of collector boats caused a collapse in the reef fishery, dealing a severe blow to fishers and their families.

Team members: Rohan Arthur, Mayukh Dey, Radhika Nair, Siddhi Jaishankar, Teresa Alcoverro and Wenzel Pinto

In the Lakshadweep islands, fishing is a critically important source of livelihood, sustenance and recreation that engages most islanders. As the barriers to entry and investment for reef fishing are low, most islanders engage with this activity, targeting predatory fish such as groupers, snappers, emperors and jacks or large herbivorous fish such as parrotfish and unicornfish. Unregulated and targeted fishing has the potential to alter the structure of reef fish communities, which, in turn, can severely compromise the health of coral reefs. To maintain the health and functioning of reef ecosystems, especially in the face of climate change, it is imperative to closely monitor reef fish communities that facilitate key ecological processes.

Project objectives: 

• Understand the impact of commercial reef fishing through key informants and in-water surveys on the composition of the fish community 

• Examine the ecological and functional consequences of over-harvesting on the ecosystem

Our initial investigation shows that a long history of unmanaged artisanal fishing has depleted predators such as groupers, snappers and emperors on the reefs of the capital island Kavaratti as compared to the less heavily fished atolls of Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat. The effects of unregulated fishing have likely been exacerbated by the introduction of commercial reef fishing over the last decade. Our ongoing study will explore resource use and future impacts of the commercial fishery on the reef ecosystem.