Area 51 (Indian Ocean, Western)

Industry led FIP started by Netuno USA, Inc. and local partners Neptune, IndoFisheries and Baraka targeting grouper fisheries in India. Groupers are found in the waters of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Paradeep and Andaman seas (Varghese et al. 2021). On the southwest coast, Kerala represents 47.8% of the marine fish harvest, followed by 43.7% is from Karnataka and 8.5% from Goa. Catches largely occur by mechanized fishing crafts (75.7%), motorized fishing crafts (21.8%) and non-mechanized country crafts (2.5%) (Sathianandan et al. 2021). In Kerala waters, grouper are found at depths 60-150m in rocky and coral reef grounds in areas called the "Kalava grounds". The main grouper species caught in Kerala include Epinephelus diacanthus, E. malabaricus, E. tauvina, E. chlorostigma and E. bleekeri. Epinephelus diacanthus is the main grouper species caught here, constituting 90% of the groupers landed (Varghese et al. 2021). The most recent catch data indicate that the species comprises ~61% of the catch landed at the main landing centre in the southwest area (specifically Kerala) with no clear sign of a decline in landings (Nair et al. 2018a). The Karnataka coast is around 300 km long and trawls form the main gear type from the mechanised sector. The State has around 96 fish landing centres, the most important being Mangaluru fisheries harbour (representing around 40 percent of Karnataka’s total catch). A recent study of landings at the site suggested that bycatch represents around 68% of the trawl catches, with shrimp, flatfishes, sciaenids, squids and crabs representing target species (Velip & Rivonker, 2015). Most bycatch in Karnataka is landed by single-day trawlers (SDT). SDTs generally operate in depths up to 30 m with the entire catch landed (including both edible ~74% and LVB  ~26%). 

AGAC has recently assessed its tropical tuna fishery against the MSC Fisheries Standard - it resulted in the certification of the skipjack tuna stock, which was one of the three Units of Assessment (for more information on this process, click here).

With its Indian Ocean yellowfin & bigeye tuna – purse seine FIP, the goal is to contribute to the improvement of yellowfin and bigeye tuna stock status in the Indian Ocean, as these stocks did not meet the MSC requirements in the aforementioned assessment. For that, the work here will focus only on the PIs that did not meet SG80 (mainly the ones that might not be fully tackled by the MSC Certification's Client Action Plan, more specifically to resolve the non-binding conditions that were set) and on the recommendations made by the CAB.

This FIP was developed exclusively by AGAC.

(NB: AGAC = Asociación de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores = Association of Large Tuna Freezers; please note that the denomination OPAGAC [Organización de Productores de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores] is contained in AGAC and refers to vessels flagged in the EU. While the name "OPAGAC" is more widely known, it is AGAC that integrates all the vessels in the association)

The fishery being assessed is the Dongwon Industries Indian Ocean purse seine FAD fishery. The fishery targets bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) with free-school (unassociated) and FAD-associated purse seine sets. The fleet of two purse seine vessels are flagged to the Republic of Korea. The fleet operates mainly in EEZs of the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar and the Indian Ocean (IO) high seas. The fishery is managed regionally by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC).

The following Units of Assessment (UoAs) were considered in this FIP:

• Indian Ocean stocks of skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin, caught by purse seine in the Seychelles EEZ and managed by national management of the Seychelles and regionally by IOTC (three UoAs);
• Indian Ocean stocks of skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin, caught by purse seine in the Mauritius EEZ and managed by national management of Mauritius and regionally by IOTC (three UoAs);
• Indian Ocean stocks of skipjack, bigeye and yellowfin, caught by purse seine in the Indian Ocean high seas and managed by national management of the Republic of Korea and regionally by IOTC (three UoAs).  

This FIP concentrates on the stocks of the following species: Heterocarpus chani, H. woodmasoni and Aristeus alcocki. For the pre-assessment, the management unit is the stock of these three species found in Kerala coastal waters, mainly operating in an area called Kollam bank. 

The fishery is a mixed trawl fishery, with each vessel carrying six or seven types of trawl gear, including bottom, midwater and pelagic trawls. Each vessel may catch 200 – 250kg of shrimp per tow. The target Heterocarpus shrimp are caught in around 200-300 metres depth, with Aristeus alcocki mainly taken at 250-300m. Other deep-sea shrimp are also landed in the fishery, with for example Solenocera hextii being significant in the catch from ~150 meters. Small amounts of cephalopods and deep-sea shark species are also landed by the same boats.   

There are 700 – 750 boats operated from Sakthikulangra, and less than 50 from Vypin, 20% of which go fishing for deep-sea shrimp. Trips last between four and ten days, landing their catch in the early mornings in Kollam, which is the nearest landing site to the fishing grounds. A single vessel may do two to three hauls a day, with a towing duration of two to three hours. The fishing season is between September to May, with peak fishing from November to January. The SW monsoon brings bad weather to the coast of Kerala, which can prevent the fishery from starting until mid-September in some cases, as it takes two to three days steaming to reach the fishing grounds (Dr. Rehka Devi Chakraborty, CMFRI, pers. comm.). As with other mechanised trawl fisheries, the deep-sea fishery is subject to a ban during the monsoon period.

The responsibility for marine fisheries in India is shared between the National (Central) and State governments. The national legal framework in India gives individual States control of the seas and living marine resources up to 12 nautical miles (nm) from the shore, while the Central Government has control from 12 nm to the 200 nm exclusive economic zone (EEZ) boundary. This fishery is managed by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Kerala. 

According to the World Bank (2010) report, there are five major legal instruments of the Central government that directly govern marine fisheries and activities:

• The Indian Fisheries Act, 1897;
• Marine Products Export Development Authority Act 1972 (No. 13 of 1972);
• The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of fishing by foreign vessels) Act, 1981 (No. 42 of 1981);
• The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of fishing by foreign vessels) Rules, 1982;
• The Operation of Deep Sea Fishing Vessels, 20m OAL and above, Notifications dated 14 December 2006.

State legislation is based on a model Act prepared by the central government in 1979 (World Bank, 2010) with each State developing its own marine fisheries legislation to manage fisheries in their respective area. In Kerala State, fisheries management is guided by the Kerala Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1980 (KMFR Act). It was amended in 2017 and is in the process of being implemented across the State.