India West Coast Squid - Trawl

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Overview

Industry led FIP started by Netuno USA, Inc and local partners Neptune, IndoFisheries and Winsor World Export targeting Squid fisheries in the West Coast India. 

Squid Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii (hereafter “Indian squid”) is the most important of a range of squid species targeted by the trawl fishery. CMFRI (Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute) note that squid catch and CPUE can vary a lot between years, considering that this relates to high variability in recruitment (e.g. a very large year class entering the fishery in 2014, leading to high catches and CPUE that year). The peak spawning season is, like cuttlefish, immediately after the monsoon, which is also the season when catch rates are highest (targeting mating aggregations). Like cuttlefish the eggs are demersal (attached to hard substrata). The species is short-lived; previously CMFRI considered the life span to be ~2-2.5 years, but recent analysis based on statoliths suggests that it may only be one year. Its distribution is coastal and it occurs around the Indian Ocean from northern Madagascar to northern Australia. U. duvaucelii makes up 88% of the squid catch according to this analysis.

This FIP focuses on Indian squid, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii, caught from Gujarat to Kerala (West Coast of India, northeastern Arabian Sea). There are significant differences across the West coast fisheries (between the SE Arabian Sea- SW Coast and the NW Arabian sea-SE Coast), including across all fishing patterns, different continental slopes, oceanography, regulations (SE coast has small boats, less powerful), where the squid are recovering. The fisheries operations also differ by mesh size restrictions and the length of the seasonal ban. Kerala’s compliance rates have improved since they first implemented the regulation.  

The high percentage (54.2%) of overfished stocks along the northwest coast of India can be attributed to the very high number of fishing vessels in the states of Gujarat, Daman Diu, and Maharashtra and the consequent fishing pressure on these resources. The number of mechanized fishing vessels in this region together accounts for nearly half (49.7%) of the national total (CMFRI-FSI-DoF, 2020). The southwest coast, particularly Kerala, has a high percentage (52%) of sustainable fish stocks, and this could be because of the recent regulations to curtail overcapacity and overfishing (Mohamed, 2017a) (Sathianandan et al. 2021).

Squid catches, and CPUE can vary significantly between years due to its high variability in recruitment.  Stock assessments covering Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii along the west coast of India estimate the populations to be close to MSY (Sasikumar et al., 2017) or in the ‘abundant’ category (Venkatesan et al., 2017). Its peak spawning season is immediately after the monsoon, which is when catch rates are at their highest (targeting mating aggregations). The CMFRI publication in 2023 on the Marine fish stocks status of India summarises the stock status of Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii as ‘sustainable’ from the Southwest coast of India and rebuilding from the North West coast of India.

Gear, vessels, and fishery operations differ across the western states of India. The fishery is prosecuted by relatively small boats that are involved in other fisheries but use different nets depending on the target species (largely associated with the shrimp fishery). To provide an idea of scale, there are around 5,000 boats operating in the India Kerala shrimp and cephalopods – trawl, which are mostly 18m to 25m in length. There are several (~12) types of nets on board. Trawl nets, operating up to 100m depth, account for ~85% of cephalopod landings.

 

FIP Description 

Industry led FIP started by Netuno USA, Inc and local partners Neptune, IndoFisheries and Winsor World Export targeting Squid fisheries in the West Coast India. 

FIP Objective(s) 

The objective of this FIP is to conduct an appropriate stock assessment and a Social Risk Assessment (SRA) for the squid Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii fisheries in West Coast India; pilot a more thorough fishery data collection system and engage other stakeholders to achieve a comprehensive status by January 2028.

FIP Type 
Basic
FIP Stage 
Stage 2: FIP Launch
Start and Projected End Dates
October 2024
December 2027
Next Progress Report Due 
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Species 
Common Name 
Indian Squid
Scientific Name
Uroteuthis (Photololigo) duvaucelii
Gear Type 
Trawl
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 51 (Indian Ocean, Western)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
India
Geographic Scope 
States in the West Coast
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
10,000 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
100,000 metric tons
Landings Date 
September 2024
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FIP at a Glance

View current status
October 01, 2024
32% 4% 18% 46%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF

Not yet available
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.

  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Apr 2025
Target End Date
Dec 2027

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
IABS
Organization Type 
NGO
Primary Contact 
Alejandro Munoz
Phone 
+55 61 9 9616-0111
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
24856