PURSE SEINE FISHING

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Context

An issue is ongoing in the Supreme Court, to decide whether the banthat several States have imposed on purse seine fishing is justified or not.
It has revealed the faultlinesbetween small, marginal and large fishers, with the Centre and States also taking different sides on the issue.

Purse Seine Fishing

Purse seine fishing, deployed widely on India’s western coasts, uses a large vertical net to surround dense shoals of pelagic or midwater fish in the open ocean, and then draws in the edges like tightening the cords of a drawstring purse.

Concern

Purse seine is a non-targeted fishing gear and catches all sorts of fishes which come in the way of the net, including juveniles. Hence, they are very much detrimental to marine resources
In some States, it is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies and trevally.
A major concern is the dwindling availability of oil sardines. In 2021, Kerala recorded a catch of just 3,297 tonnes of sardine, a sharp decrease from the haul of 3.9 lakh tonnes in 2012.

Range of arguments

The scientific community argues that climatic conditions, including the El Nino phenomenon, are responsible for the declining catch of such fish in the last ten years.
However, fishermen using traditional methods have placed the blame squarely on the rise of purse seine fishing, and fear a further fall in the availability of these small fish if the ban is lifted.
Traditional fish workers blame purse seines as a reason for the decrease in sardines in Indian waters. But those using big boats with purse seine fishing nets claim that it is simply a more scientific way to catch fish, particularly from the first layer of the sea.

Currently Banned in many states

Currently, bans on purse seine fishing are implemented in the territorial waters of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands up to 12 nautical miles.
States such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, West Bengal have not imposed any such ban, while Maharashtra has issued some orders to regulate, but not ban purse seine fishing in its territorial waters.