FAD assisted fishing practice of Kerala: A review

2004

Bush park fi shing / padal fi shing is an indigenous fi shing method widely employed in the Ashtamudi estuary of Kerala (south India). An artifi cial reef made from twigs and leaves of trees is planted in the shallow areas of the estuary. The aim is to harvest fi sh that fi nd shelter in these structures for the purpose of feeding and breeding. Though the State Department of Fisheries has banned this method of fi shing in the inland waters of Kerala, 400 padals are operating in this estuary. About 300 of them are anchored in the western parts of the estuary (west Kayal). Fish are harvested in the padals at monthly intervals almost round the year and this results in the destruction of a sizeable quantity of juveniles and sub-adults of the commercially important fi shes, such as Pearl spot and mullets, from the estuary. These padals pose a major threat to the sustainability of the fi shery resources of this estuary and, therefore, need to be phased out by providing alternative occupations for the fi shermen who are dependant on the padals. Joice V. Thomas is senior research fellow and B.M. Kurup is Professor (Fisheries) at

2007

1987

Kerala, the southwestern part of the peninsular India, has a narrow stretch of land with a long surf-beaten coast on the western side and a lush green mountain range on the eastern side. The coastline is 590 km long, which is almost one-tenth of the Indian coastline. Marine fishing, using artisanal tackles like boat-seines, shore-seines and Chinese dip nets, is an age-old tradition of the state. Mechanisation was started in late fifties by the Indo-Norwegian Project, at first in the Quilon area. The early sixties too saw an important technological development, namely the shift from cotton to nylon nets. By mid-sixties, individual entrepreneures entered the scene, paving way for a fast development of trawl fishery in the coastal waters. Commercial purse-seining started during late seventies, and the process of large-scale motorisation of country crafts began in early eighties.

2013

This paper investigates Kerala fishery sector and its impact on ecosystem, and socioeconomic impact of ban on fisheries on the fishing labour and their dependence on fishing as livelihood. The paper analyses the viability of various mechanized fishing units in the State of Kerala using different economic and financial indicators. The study aims to provide a background to fisheries in Kerala with focus on seafood export from the State using commodity, quantity, value and country wise data. The study also aims to map the flow of key export species from landing site to the port of dispatch in order to list the main factors that determines the seafood export chains in the state. The report ends with brief note on the degree of dependence of the poor within the fishing community on seafood industry and suggestions on improving the livelihood security of fish workers with resource conservation.

Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research, 2019

The fishing industry occupies an influential and unique place in Kerala economy. Kerala state, blessed with long coastline of around 590 kms is one of the most productive areas as far as fishing is concerned. Fisheries sector contribute nearly 3 percent of the economy of the State. It can be seen that the current level of annual marine fish production is about 6 lakhs tones/ year. More than a million people belonging to the fishing communities live in 222 fishing villages in the marine sector in the State. About two lakh people depend on ancillary professions like processing of prawn and fish and marketing of fish for a living in Kerala. The general living condition and economic status of the fisher folk in the State is considered not on a par with the living standards of the general population of the State. The fishery economy of Kerala had been traditionally conceptualised as a network of relationships in the realms of production, consumption and exchange (Kurien 1974). Traditiona...

2014

Food, shelter and clothing are the basic necessities of the life and among them, food plays a pivotal role in the social and economic development of the country. Demographic pressures abating the arable lands as well as the declining factor productivity in major agriculture based cropping system leaves no options with the primary stakeholders than to f ind an alternative to traditional agricultural activity. Indian fisheries sector contributes to nutritional security, provides gainful employment and earns forex earnings. The sector produces 9.3 million tonnes of f ish to the food basket generating an economic value of 81,400 crores (0.82 percent) of the total GDP as per the current market prices of 2011. The forex earnings during 2011 in terms of quantity and value are 8.70 lakh tonnes and around 3.5 billion US$ crores respectively. Eventhough capture sector is on the rise with around 3.94 million tonnes, the sector is grappled with numerous policy bottlenecks in the value chain. Thus it becomes important to harvest alternative and non-traditional sources of f isheries. Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world and there is immense scope of improving it in terms of horizontal integrations by harnessing more and more area into aquaculture in addition to the numerous policy constraints and elements required for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector to feed the ever growing population.

The scientific advancements in fish husbandry and aquarium technology coupled with its potential in earning foreign exchange have facilitated the growth of marine aquarium fishery sector across the globe. Nearly 2 million people worldwide are engaged in marine aquarium keeping, either for recreation or as a means of livelihood. However, with rich ornamental fish reserves especially in the southeast and southwest coastal areas, India's share is insignificant to the global export in ornamental fishery sector. In Kerala, there are very few studies reported on the marine ornamental fish trade and hence this study throws light on the status of ornamental fishery trade in Kerala, including availability of resources, demand for this sector, problems and constraints in keeping marine aquarium and suggestions for improving this sector. The present study was conducted in three districts of Kerala viz. Kozhikode, Ernakulum and Thiruvananthapuram and two different sets of interview schedule...

2015

Kerala with a coastline of 590 km is a significant contributor to the total marine fish landings of the country. A picture of the marine fisheries sector in Kerala during the years 2005 and 2010 is presented below (Table 1). With a continental shelf of about 40,000 km2 marine fisheries plays a vital role in the livelihood of the people.

African Journal of Basic & Applied Sciences, 2013

Fishes harvested through a specific gear called Push Net was recorded from January 2009 to December 2011at Motta Gopuram and Siluvaipatti having a common landing centre along Tuticorin, South east coast of India. Among the total of 226.102 tonnes landed during the study period, there was a decline in harvested fish level from 82.750 t from January to December 2009, 74.943 t from January 2010 to December 2010 and 68.409 t from January 2011 to December 2011. Maximum landings were recorded for shrimps 161.284 t, followed by crabs with 23.413 t, cephalopods 14.562 t, snappers 5.564 t, goat fish 5.256 t, rabbit fish 4.213 t, parrot fish 3.416, anchovies 2.479 t and gastropods 3.048 t. In terms of percentage shrimps 71.33%, followed by crabs 10.35%, cephalopods 6.44%, snapper 2.46%, goat fish 2.31% and rabbit fish 1.86%, soles 1.28%, parrot fish 1.51%, anchovies 1.09% and gastropods 1.34%. Juvenile fishes, sea grass, sea weed and sponges were also brought ashore once this net is operated. Operation of this specifi gear causes severe threat to marine benthic habitats.