India Kerala shrimp and cephalopods - trawl

This FIP concentrates on the stocks of the following species: Karikkadi shrimp (Parapenaeopsis stylifera), Poovalan shrimp (Metapenaeus dobsoni), cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis), squid (Uroteuthis duvaucelli), and octopus (Amphioctopus neglectus, A. marginatus). For the pre-assessment, the management unit is the stock of these five species found in Kerala coastal waters. 

The fishing gear for this FIP is trawls. The fishery is a mixed fishery, targeting shrimp, cephalopods and fish. Shrimp trawls use a different (smaller) cod-end to the fish and cephalopod trawls (see regulations below). The cephalopod trawl uses the same mesh size as the fish trawl but is reportedly rigged slightly off-bottom, by adjusting the rigging of doors; in fact, it is rigged somewhat differently for each target species of cephalopod. Cephalopods are also targeted in shrimp trawls rigged to have a high opening. Vessels may carry several trawls on board. Fishing trips last three to four days at the beginning of the season (August/Sept) and can increase up to 15 days later in the season (April/May), depending on the storage, ice and fuel capacity of the vessel.

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. Although this fishery operates inside and outside 12 nm, management jurisdiction in practice is with the Kerala fisheries department. There is however a potential for the stocks under assessment to be shared with neighbouring states, i.e., Karnataka, and also the central government, if the stocks’ ranges extend past the 12 nm demarcation.

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.

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