Introduction

The coastal zone, which is an interfacebetweenland and ocean, has enormous socio-economicimportance, as these areas are characterised byan abundance of natural resources. The coastalbelt of Kerala, about 590 kms long, has 226 marinefish landingcentres and an equal number of fishingvillages with high population density. The coastalhabitat is under severe threat due to humanintervention in the forms of excessive fishing in theinshore waters, shallow water mining, lifting ofcoastal sands, destruction of mangroves, inflow ofpollutants,growing urbanisation,constructionofseawalls and other related activities. These activitiesare bound to disturb the coastal ecosystem,affecting the sustainability of fishery resourcesandlivelihoodsecurityof the vast majorityof inhabitants.Besides, the technologicaladvancements in fishingmethods, coupled with increasing export demandfor fish, lead to over-crowding of fishing units,especially during peak seasons. This conditionaffects the very sustainability of ecosystems andincreases the need for environmental quality andconservation of resources.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the present study are to:

· Examine and document the extent of recentchanges in the techno-exploitation pattern ofinshoreopen access marinefisheriesand socio- .economic condition of stakeholders.

· Assess the economic impact of such changeson structure, composition and productivity ofinshore marine fisheries and the livelihoodsecurity of the coastal population.

· Evaluatethe economicsof operationof differentfishing unitsand their impacton fishery resourceconservation, and to suggest policy measuresfor sustainabledevelopmentof the coastalzone.

· Estimate the economic loss due to theenvironmental degradation of inshore marineecosystems, and to provide sufficient socio-economic indicatorsto administratorsand polic~makers for decision-making in regionaenvironmental planning.

Site

A preliminary survey was conducted in all thefishing villages covering the entire study area fromPoovarinthe southto Munambaminthe northalongthe southern Keralacoast to identify representativesamplevillagesof mechanised,motorisedand non-mechanised fishing centres. The villages andlandingcentres were selected for detailed study orthe basis of use patterns of marine coastalresources and intensity of operation of differentcraft-gear combinations, both in artisanal andmechanised sectors of Southern Kerala. (Fig. 1)

Fig.1 Map showing selected centres for thestudy in Southern Kerala

. Mechani.eJ craf..is)-Motonscd craftsis)- Non-motonscd crafts

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Methodology

The villages were classified into highlydegraded, moderately degraded andcomparatively undisturbed categories in relationto the intensity of environmental pollution as wellas fishing. The costs and earnings data for alltypes of fishing units were collected on sampledays from each landing centre, and theeconomics of different fishing units wereevaluated, covering all seasons in a year (2001-2002). The socio-economic survey wasconducted in all selected centres to analyse thesocio-economic framework of the coastal ruralsector. Secondary time series data from 1962 to2000, relating to species-wise catch wasobtained from the National Marine Living8esources Data Centre of CMFRI. It was used:0 study the extent of variation in catchcomposition, production trend of inshore marine'isheries and the impact of technologicaladvances on marine resource base. In order toevaluate the response of those involved in fishingand allied activities regarding environmental andconservation problems of natural fisheryresources, an opinion survey was also conducted'n all the selected villages.

The sample centres selected for detailedstudy were Munambam, Cochin, Alappadt..Ieendakara and Kochuveli for the highlydegraded category; Arthungal, Valanjavazhi,Thangassery and Vizhinjam for the moderatelydegraded category; and Kattoor and Poovar forthe comparatively undisturbed category. Amongthe selected centres under the highly degradedcategory, Munambam, Cochin and Neendakarawere predominantly mechanised fishing centres"aving serious environmental and conservationproblems. The major environmental concerns ofthese centres were excessive fishing pressureon the inshore region, heavy destruction of thebottom fauna, juvenile fishing, by-catches,discards and coastal pollution. Another highlydegraded area covered under the study wasKochuveli village in Thiruvananthapuram District,where a large industrial unit producing titaniumproducts is situated. Large quantities of acidwastes from this industry flow into the sea, whichcauses many health hazards. Some centresunder the study area were considered degradeddue to sea erosion and sand mining. Alappadvillage in Kollam district was one of the most

affected and degraded villages due to theinvasion of the furious sea, especially during themonsoon season.

In the moderately degraded areas, theproliferation of motorised gears, operating withinthe near shore areas create heavy threat to thehabitat. The indiscriminate operation of a largenumber of mini trawl and ring seine units,operating from the landing centre at Valanjavazhiand Pallana, led to the depletion of some speciesof fish of commercial value and importance. Thepredominant use of gears with reduced meshsize leads to juvenile fishing, and thereby overfishing of many important species of fish. A largeproportion of the catch in mini trawl units iscomposed of juveniles/sub-adults of the flatfishCynoglossus macrostomus and shrimpParapenaeopsis stylifera, causing damage torecruitment. Oil spills from outboard engines inthe bay-landing centres such as Thangasseryand Vizhinjam led pollution in the near shorewaters.

The Kattoor coast of Alappuzha and Poovarin Thiruvananthapuram district are comparativelyundisturbed areas. Kattoor is a natural landingcentre with motorised and non-mechanised unitsunder operation. Most of the gears underoperation in Poovar are non-mechanised units,such as Catamarans (Plank built canoe), shoreseine units and motorised plywood boat with gillnett hooks and line.

The extent of damage caused bytechnological advancements, and therebydestructive fishing by the mechanised as well asthe motorised sectors was analysed. Theeconomic loss due to juvenile fishing by differentfishing units was estimated using suitable modelsdeveloped during the study. Cobb-Douglasproduction function was used to evaluate theeconomic efficiency of input utilisation in trawleroperation in three different regions. The NetPresent Value (NPV) was calculated fordiscounted economic loss due to variousenvironmental factors.

Results and Findings

Fish landings

The analysis of species-wise annual landingsof Kerala during the last four decades clearly

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indicates that the effect of technological changesin fishing methods such as introduction ofmechanisation and motorization of country craftshad affected some of the marine resources,leading to their depletion. The catfish fisheryalong the Kerala coast is the best example ofthe depletion of a resource due to indiscriminatefishing by the mechanised sector. The averageannual catch of cat fish in 1961 was 3,114 t,which rose upto 33,526 t in 1974 owing to thelarge-scale exploitation by the mechanisedtrawlers and purse seiners. During the intensivemechanisationperiod, this came down-to only103 tonnes in 2000 (Fig. 2) .The major reasonfor the decline of this particular species was theover fishing of brooders by the mechanized purseseiners and trawlers.

The pelagic fish, such as the carangids,tunnies and seer fish were exploited maximumbetween 1985 to 1990, mostly by the motorisedcountry crafts, especially using ring seines, gillnets and hooks and line. From then on, the catchshowed a declining trend in spite of the increasein the number of motorised units in the area.

Another endangered species is the polynemids,collectively calledthreadfins. The major causeof their depletion w'as' the destruction of theirnursery grounds by mechanised trawlers. Theannual production of elasmobranches was alsoshown to be declining ever since their peaklandings of 10,338 t in 1974, which was reducedto only 2,832 tin 2000 (Fig.2). The heavyexploitation of sharks by the mechanised vesselsalong the coast reduced the catch from 7,747 tin 1983 to 1,706 t in 2000.

Certain less priced fish such as threadfinbreams, lizard fish and ribbonfish considered by-catches in the mechanised trawlers, recorded anincreasing trend in their catch. It was estimatedthat, in the total trawl landings, more than 45percent was composed of by-catches, whichincluded other than the above mentionedspecies, the juveniles and sub-adults of a widevariety of commercially important fish. Theincrease in the landings of the cephalopods,mainly an export item, was also noticeable inrecent years.

Fig.2: Catch Trend of Cat fish, Elasmobranchesand Seer fish

40000

35000

30000

25000200001500010000

5000

o .

...rjJ' # ,# ~C) QJ~ ~'O q}.~ QJ~q,...QJtJ~,Q;,'b'b<fJ qJ" # ~V.ars

',

~Calfishes

.. Etasmobr~. -+- Seer fish

Socio-economics of Fishing Communities

The selected villages along the coastastretch of Kerala between Munambam arcPoovar were surveyed to assess the socio-economic status of the fishermen and the otherpeople depending on the coastal resources fertheir livelihood. The total number of householdsranged from about 1,000 in Kochuveli to 12,OOCin Thangassery. In each village, the coasta.wards, predominantly inhabited by fishermerwere covered under the survey and informatiCY'was collected on socio-economic indicators sueras housing pattern, family size and demographicfeatures, literacy level, ownership of fishingequipment and employment pattern with specia.emphasis on fishing people, income distribution,consumption and expenditure pattern andindebtedness.

Regarding the ownership of fishingimplements, the non-mechanised fishing vesse,owners were more in Kochuveli and Poovarwhere 18 and 20 percent of the familiesrespectively had non-mechanised catamaranswith gill nets. The percentage of families havingnon-mechanised shore seine were 7 percent inPoovar and 4 percent in Kochuveli. In Alappadand Kattoor, 5 percent of the families were theowners of non-mechanised dinghies with gillnets. In Kochuveli, the livelihood of the fishingcommunity was seriously affected by pollution,which was indicated by the non-existence of anyimproved technology in this area. Fishermenmostly used country craft and catamaranswithout any sort of mechanised device. InPoovar, more families were operating non-motorised catamarans and country crafts,mainlybecause it was an economically backward villagehaving no facility for institutional credit. InVizhinjam, 23 percent of the families were owner-

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operators of plywood boat units with gillnet/hooksalld line. Motorised mini trawl units were found...,ore in Valanjavazhi with 24 percent of the'ami lies owning them. The households that~wned mechanised trawlers were 5, 4 and 4::Jercentin Alappad, Neendakara and Munambam'"espectively.

Table 1: Ownership Pattern of Fishingtmplements - Percentage Distribution ofFamilies

Out of the total, 69 percent of the adult:>opulationin Arthungal was employed, followedoy Poovar (67%) and Valanjavazhi (61%). Theowest level of employment was in Kochuveli\47%), followed by Thangassery (51%), where...,ostof the women were housewives. About 50percent of the employed population in Vizhinjam,Valanjavazhi and Kattoor were wage earners in;he motorised fishing units, which provided better'lcome to fishermen. About 47 percent in

\leendakara and 48 percent in Munambam wereemployed as wage earners in the mechanisedishing units. Only 21 percent of the people inKochuveli and 19 percent in Poovar wereengaged in fish marketing, mostly representingthe women head load vendors, generatingadditional income to support their families. InKochuveli, because of the discharge of effluentsfrom the titanium factory into the sea, thentensity of fishing had come down, causingdetrimental effect on the fishery. There had beena considerable shift in occupation from fisheryto non-fishery activities. Many had migrated toother places for employment. About 28 percent

in Valanjavazhi were engaged in processingwork,mostly ladies working in shrimp peeling sheds.

On the whole, in all the villages, theexpenditure pattern indicated that about 80percent of the household expenditure was forconsumption purposes. The average annualhousehold expenditure ranged from Rs.19, 600for the families of shrimp peeling workers inKattoor, to Rs. 65,412 for the mechanised boatowning families in Munambam. . However, it wasobserved that medical expenses of families indifferent villages had no significant relation withthe intensity or incidence of pollution. The creditutilization pattern clearly indicated that in mostvillages, maximum loan was availed forproductive purposes.

Costs & Earnings

In the mechanised sector, the annual net profitfrom the trawlers having an Overall Length (OAL)of 36-42ft, 45-48ft and >50ft operating fromCochin Fisheries Harbour during 2001-2002,worked out to Rs.3.66 lakh, Rs.6.98 lakh andRsA.14 lakh. About 40 percent of the totalexpenditure was for fuel, followed by 25 percentfor wages. Regarding the purse seine units, theannual net profit worked out at RS.14.36 lakh,and was maximum for the above 50ft craft

category, with the highest rate of return of 87percent. The average revenue obtained for themechanized gill net units was RS.20.87Iakh, witha net profit of Rs.4.69 lakh.

The annual profit for the operation of the ringseine units with a craft of >50ft at Valanjavazhiwas RS.3.75 lakh. The major expenditure waslabour charges (40%) as crews of 20-30 people,depending on the size of the craft, were engagedin a single day trip. The annual net profit obtainedfrom a motorized mini trawl unit during the aboveperiod was RS.1.48 lakh at Valanjavazhi andRS.0.93 lakh at Arthungal, with the highest rateof return of 168 percent for the former landingcentre. The average annual revenue from aplywood boat with gill net, operating fromVizhinjam centre was Rs.5.73 lakh with a netprofit of RS.0.77 lakh, and the net profit from thesame type of unit at Thangassery centre wascalculated at RS.1.11 lakh.

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mage Non-mechanlsed Motorised Mechanlsed

Shore CatamaranDinghy Plywood Ring Mini Trawlerseine &glllnet & glllnet boat& seine trawl

glllnet unit unit

"oovar 7 18 8

Mlinjam 3 23

':ochuveli 4 20 2 -

assery - 7 2

'leendakara 4 4

'Jappad - 5 6 4 5

.alanjavazhi 24

<attoor 5 3 4

-l1hungal - 2 t 12

Comparatively higher rates of return wereobtained from the non-mechanised units, suchas catamaran and shore seine units, mainlybecause of lower investment. The only exceptionwas the non-mechanised dinghy with gill net, forwhich the rate of return was only 19 percent. Thenet profit from a shore seine unit worked out atRS.1.14 lakh at Poovar and RS.0.90 lakh atKochuveli, with a rate of return of 126 percentand 103 percent respectively, and 95 percent ofthe expenses were towards labour costs. AtKochuveli, due to pollution, the average catchper unit of catamaran was much less than thatof Poovar, but the average revenue was highbecause fishing was extended to interior ground,therefore they could get quality fish fetchinghigher prices.

The key economic indicators of operations ofall types of fishing units were calculated andcompared. Among the mechanised units, theaverage catch per day of operation was highestfor trawlers, and the lowest was for gill net, butin terms of value realisation, it was vice-versa.Labour productivity was more in trawlers. Amongmotorised units, the catch and revenue per dayof operation was highest in ring seine. Averagerevenue realisation was high in mini trawl due tothe landings of penaeid prawns. Labourproductivity and the rate of return were alsofound to be higher in mini trawl units. Amongnon-mechanised units, shore seines obtained thehighest catch per day of operation. Quantity offish produced per man, per day in shore seinewas very low indicating high labour involvementin its operation.

Production Function Model

The production function analysis using Cobb-Douglas model indicates that there is scope toenhance the net profit of trawlers by increasingfishing days and the area of operation atNeendakara and Munambam, whereas at CochinFisheries Harbour, it is almost at the optimumlevel. At Neendakara landing centre, fishing daysin a year can be increased from the average levelof 193 to 204, and in Munambam from 203 to229 days, to get the maximum profit. Eventhough the number of days fished in a year arenot upto the optimum in all the major centres, itwas observed that there was still excessive fishingpressure due to over crowding of fishing units.

Economic Loss due to Juvenile Fishing

The economic loss due to juvenile fishing b'.different fishing units was estimated using t/"2model developed on the basis of the quantity (;"juveniles landed by different gears, price le..aof juveniles and adult fish of each species, ar:the approximate period of juveniles to attain adL.-or marketable size. Even though the annuarevenue generated by a purse seiner is RS.20-lakh, the annual economic loss due to juveni;fishing by the same unit works out to RS.39.Elakh. In the mechanised trawler, the econom::loss due to juvenile fishing was Rs.28.3 lakh asagainst its gross annual revenue of RS.31.2Iakt'In the motorised sector, a ring seine contributesa loss of RS.19.1 lakh, which is higher than tha'of the annual revenue generated by the sameunit (Rs.12.4 lakh), and for the mini trawl, t~;annual economic loss was estimated at RS.6.Slakh. Among different centres, the highes'economic loss was at Neendakara harbour wit:"Rs. 239.1 crores/year, followed by CochirFisheries Harbour and Munambam. As a wholethe economic loss due to juvenile fishing in trestudy area alone is estimated at RS.600 croresper annum, in which tne highly degraded centrescontribute about 82 percent.

Economic Loss due to Pollution

Environmental problems at Kochuveli andAlappad were discussed in detail, and theireffects on fisheries of the area were worked omin terms of Net Present Value (NPV) of loss offishing income due to pollution for the next 15years, discounted to the present level. AtKochuveli, because of the pollution problem.people are reluctant to adopt improvedtechnologies of fishing. Due to this, the fishingintensity also has come down. Taking intoaccount the major factors influencing the levelof effort and the catch and value, the Net PresentValue of estimated loss to the village due topollution for the next 15 years comes to aroundRs. 23.7 crores. Since there can be a flow offuture benefits in coming years, a cost benefitanalysis is done and the NPV is calculated for15 years with a discount rate of 12 percent. NPVcalculated for Kochuveli is RS.157.4 crores. Thelow level of annual landings from Alappad landingcentre is mainly due to the sand mining and seaerosion, resulting in the construction of a sea

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','311,which obstructs the landing centre facilities.~e annual economic loss due to these factors:imounts to RS.97.4 crores. The economic loss...terms of Net Present Value calculated for 15.ears is Rs. 647 crores.

LOSSdue to Over-Fishing

Economic loss due to the extinction of some

:f the species of fish because of over-exploitation'.'3Sworked out. The net loss due to over-fishing,','asestimated in terms of Net Present Value of','SY for 30 years, discounted to the presentevel, which was Rs.160.6 crores for catfish,=\s.458.5crores for elasmobranches and Rs. 3.9::"ores for goatfish. An additional loss of 30~ercent of this amount comes in the form of:onsumer surplus.

Dpinion Survey

An opinion survey was conducted on;overnment policies on the conservation of.resources, covering 100 people in each of theselected villages, who in one way or other are'1volved in fishing activ,ities, either as fishMorkers,fish traders or boat owners. The survey~eveals that more than 80 percent of therespondents are aware of the importance ofenvironmental management for the conservationat natural resources, especially fishery. Manyat the respondents in the degraded area believed:.+,atmany economically important species of fish,ave disappeared or declined from that area,especially from Kochuveli. About 60 percent of;he interviewed people at Alappad demanded theconstruction of a sea wall to protect the shore,and 100 percent to stop sand mining. All therespondents, except those involved in theoperation of mini trawl, consider this net as highlydestructive and detrimental to the growth offishery in the long run. However, most of thefishermen interviewed were very cautious inmaking any response to the restrictive measures,which would affect their present benefits. Amajority are in favour of a fishing holiday, butthere is no unanimity in the type of unit orduration.

Recommendations

Policy measures have been recommended forthe conservation of resources and environmentalproblems along the study area.

· In Kochuveli, where environmental problemsaffect the future benefit from fishery, it issuggested that the industrial effluents shouldbe treated before discharging them into thesea through a buried tunnel.

· To prevent the indiscriminate exploitation offishery resources, there should be fishingholidays for all types of mechanised fishingunits and their socio-economic impact shouldbe properly assessed.

· Since mini trawl is comparatively highlyprofitable and less capital intensive, there isevery chance for its expansion. But, it isdetrimental to the sustainable developmentof the fishery. Hence, further proliferation ofthis unit should be restricted.

· As the economic loss due to juvenile fishingis substantial, the standardised mesh sizeregulations should be introduced andimplemented with proper monitoring for alltypes of gears in order to avoid juvenile fishing.

· All types of construction along the seashore,even those for developmental purposes,should be regulated, and the CRZ Act shouldbe strictly enforced for the environmentalprotection of the coastal area

· Due to the economic loss due to the extinctionof three species - elasmobranches, catfishand goatfish because of intensive over-fishing, other endangered species such ascarangids, seer fish, threadfins, etc. have tobe protected by restricting indiscriminatefishing by mechanised as well as motorisedfishing units.

· Integration of coastal mariculture with small-scale inshore fisheries issuggested as aviable alternative to enhance the earnings andlivelihood security of coastal fisherfolk withoutendangering the environment.

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