Fish Conservation

Context- Purse Seine Fishing gear users have been granted permission by the Supreme Court (SC) to fish beyond Tamil Nadu’s territorial waters (12 nautical miles) and within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (200 nautical miles), subject to certain restrictions.

Key Highlights

• This takes place against the backdrop of the Tamil Nadu Government’s February 2022 ban on purse seine fishing.
• The SC has lifted the complete ban imposed by the Tamil Nadu government by limiting the purse seine’s use to two days—Monday and Thursday—from 8am to 6pm

Concerns

• Insufficient efforts at conservation:

• • • The order of the court appears to be less concerned with the conservation measures and obligations outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) than it is with regulating fishing through administrative and transparent means.
    • Coastal states have sovereign rights under UNCLOS to ensure that the EEZ’s living and non-living resources are utilized, conserved, and managed appropriately without being over exploited.
    • The total allowable catch (TAC) in the EEZ must be determined by coastal states to avoid overexploitation.
    • Without regulating the methods of fishing, limiting the purse seine to two days of fishing is insufficient.

• Threatens Traditional Fishermen’s Way of Life:

• • • In contrast to traditional fishermen who employ traditional fishing gear, purse seiners frequently overfish, putting the traditional fisherman’s livelihood in jeopardy.
    • It is a non-targeted fishing gear that takes all kinds of fish, even juveniles, that get in the way of the net. As a result, they are extremely harmful to marine resources.

• Food Security Threat:

• • • The decreasing availability of oil sardines, a favorite fish of Keralans, is a major concern.
    • Kerala had a catch of just 3,297 tonnes of sardines in 2021, a significant decrease from the 2012 haul of 3.9 lakh tonnes.

• Endangered Species Are At Risk:

• • A trade embargo may be threatened by purse seiners’ non-selective fishing methods, which may result in the by-catch of other marine living species, including endangered species.

Purse Seine Fishing: What Is It?

• A purse seine consists of a long wall of netting supported by floating leadline and purse rings that hang from the gear’s lower edge. Through these rings runs a purse line made of steel wire or rope that lets the net purse.
• On India’s western coasts, the method has been widely used because it is thought to be effective.
• In the open ocean, it is used to catch schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel in dense concentrations.

What efforts are being made to conserve marine animal resources?

• • In 1989 and 1991, the UN General Assembly adopted the following resolutions:
  • It demanded a moratorium on all high-seas large-scale pelagic drift net fishing vessels.

• Ocean Conference for the United Nations in 2022:

• • • to guarantee international cooperation for the purpose of safeguarding and maintaining the global ocean ecosystem.

• One Ocean Conference:

• • • reducing plastic pollution, decarbonizing shipping, and combating illegal fishing.

• Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna 1993 (SBT):

• • • The Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Drift Nets of 1989 aims to ensure the conservation and optimal use of southern bluefin tuna through appropriate management.

• Convention for the Prohibition of Fishing with Long Drift Nets 1989:

• • • In the South Pacific, a regional agreement restricts drift net fishing vessels’ access to ports.

• Declaration of Tarawa, 1989:

• • The South Pacific Forum has declared that large drift nets should not be used, or at least called for their prohibition.

Conclusion 

Garrett Hardin’s concept of the “Tragedy of the Commons,” which asserts that “Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all,” ought to be a compelling reason for authorities, fishermen, and purse seiners in particular, to cooperate with conservation efforts and stick to their guns.

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