PURSE SEINE FISHING - ENVIRONMENT

News: What will become of traditional fishermen if purse seine nets take all their catch, SC asks Centre

 

What's in the news?

       The Supreme Court asked the Centre what would happen to the small and traditional fishermen in the State of Tamil Nadu if “affluent” purse seine fishermen on mechanized boats are allowed to operate beyond the 12 nautical mile territorial waters and end up catching hundreds of tonnes of fish.

       Tamil Nadu Government said purse seine fishing kills fishing stock and is a danger to the environment, leaving traditional fishermen operating within the territorial waters on their catamarans with nothing.

       The court is hearing a petition filed by Fishermen Care to stay a Tamil Nadu Government order of February 17, 2020, which had banned the large nets used to catch schools of fish in the deep waters of the sea.

 

Purse Seine Fishing:

       Purse Seine fishing is used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel.

       A vertical net ‘curtain’ is used to surround the school of fish, the bottom of which is then drawn together to enclose the fish.

       Purse seine fishing is popular on India’s western coasts.

       It is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies and trevally on the western coasts.

       The scientific community argues that climatic conditions, including the El Nino phenomenon, are responsible for the declining catch of such fish in the last 10 years.

       However, fishermen using traditional methods have placed the blame squarely on the rise in purse seine fishing.

 

Advantages:

       Purse-seine fishing in open water is generally considered to be an efficient form of fishing.

       It has no contact with the seabed and can have low levels of by catch.

       It can also be used to catch fish congregating around fish aggregating devices.

       It is used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish like tuna and mackerel.

 

Disadvantages:

       Purse seining is a non-selective fishing method that captures everything that it surrounds, including sea turtles and marine mammals.