Vhali Watcher: An app to set whale sharks free
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…
Threatened and undocumented sea snakes of India
They are neither well-known nor well-studied. Now a documentation of India's sea snakes hopes to stimulate further research interest and bring focus on the conservation of these marine creatures. In…
Making maps to protect fishing villages around Chennai
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…
What underwater sounds tell us about marine life
The water appeared opaque the deeper we travelled. An occasional peach-coloured butterscotch jellyfish would emerge from the depths, the bell breaking the surface to tread water, with its tentacles swirling…
A new species of shark from studying fish by-catch
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’s first attempt at regulating fishing trawlers underway
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…
India changes coastal rules, bonanza for the industry
Eyeing massive economic growth and employment generation, the Indian government has overhauled the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules which govern developmental activities along the ecologically sensitive 7,500-km-long Indian coastline. Doing…
Managing marine life strandings, while national protocol is awaited
On the evening of June 24, 2015, members of the Konkan Cetacean Research Team received an ominous call. A blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), the largest animal in the world, was…
They show sea life on the sea shore
The smell of sea hangs thick in the air as we gather round and listen to the dos and don’ts. “Don’t pick up anything even if it seems beautiful,” Sejal…
Speed up environment clearances for ports: parliament panel
Stating that the development of port infrastructure is necessary to the economic health of the nation, a parliamentary committee has asked the environment ministry to speed up the environmental clearance…
