January 18th, 2020. It is a hot Saturday afternoon in Sasihithlu, a small fishing village in southern Karnataka. At 12:30 PM, the sun is directly above us, glaring through a…
Reefs do not come to mind when one thinks of India’s coastline as coral reef establishments are limited to the waters around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Palk Bay…
The fisheries sector, within the primary (agricultural) sector of the Indian economy, is a future source of growth. But it is yet to receive adequate policy attention with a futuristic…
Tonnes of fish caught through unsustainable fishing are being used by the fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) industries which supply feed to global aquaculture chains. These are wreaking havoc…
Every year, billions of fish — almost one-fifth of the world’s annual wild catch — are dried, pressed and ground into oil and meal. The majority of this material is…
The fishermen of the Thoothoor region in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu are renowned for their bold sea-faring journeys and their ability to catch large, deep-sea species, such as sharks,…
Around 15 fishermen from Chinnathurai village in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, gathered near the imposing St. Jude’s church in the village, watching as their friend and colleague Jeevadasan…
Among the many threatened marine species in the world, shark populations exhibit some of the most worrying trends. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s latest assessment, 139…
For sexagenarian Madoo Bhai, the world has changed beyond recognition since he was a child. He has spent his life in Chikhalda, a small village along the banks of Narmada…
It was September 7, barely a month after the floods of 2018 had wrecked large parts of Kerala. Though life was far from normal in Thrissur's coastal Kodungalloor, 48-year-old Jaison…
Fifty-two-year-old Moreshwar Namdeo Koli is a fisherman whose family has been fishing in the Arabian sea off the Mumbai coast for the past three generations. His is among the 15,000…
In the backdrop of the mild sound of waves lashing against their boats and mechanised vessels berthed in Tharuvaikulam wharf, fishers were busy mending their nets in a shed. The…
Monsoon in Kerala is not a happy season for those who love their fish curry and rice. Fish costs two or three times higher due to the annual trawling ban…
Last month, June 2019, the Indian government created its first ministry for fisheries. Although it clubs fishing together, rather oddly, with animal husbandry and dairy, the move fulfills a long-standing…
For fisherfolk from Gujarat, finding a whale shark tangled in their nets is an unwelcome sight. They can’t legally harvest the protected species, yet the world’s biggest fish can wreak…
“Like fish trapped in a net,” Jam Ismael Ali smiled at the irony of the simile drawn to explain his own situation. One among the few remaining Pagadia fishermen in…
Sanjaybhai Machhi, 33, a resident of Bharuch in Gujarat, was a fisherman until a few years ago. He would earn enough from fishing in the Narmada river, to sustain his…
In a small fishing hamlet in Tamil Nadu, a community leader opens his smartphone and searches his contacts for “Map Saravanan” to make sure the number is saved correctly. Amused…
On 26 April 2008, a never-before-seen species of shark arrived on the fishing harbour in Kochi. It was accidentally caught while fishing for economically important sharks from the deep-sea waters.…
India will make its first serious attempt to regulate fishing vessels that go out to the sea - for which bureaucratic wheels have just begun to turn. A central government…
