Status of Monitoring, Control & Surveillance (MCS) in Fisheries Sector

Bay of Bengal ProgrammeInter-Governmental Organisation

www.bobpigo.org; yugraj.yadava@bobpigo.org

Meeting-cum-Workshop to Consider Appropriate Systems/Guidelines/Regulatory Framework for Operation of

Fishing Vessels to Prevent Collision with Merchant Vessels and Ensuring Safety of Fishermen and Fishing Vessels

23 - 24 January 2018, Chennai

Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO)

• A four-country regional fisheries advisory body.

• Contracting Parties: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka.

• Institutionalized in April 2003 from the erstwhile Bay of Bengal Programme of FAO.

According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Fisheries Governance = f (Monitoring, Control, Surveillance)

What is MCS?

Monitoring Control Surveillance

Collection, measurement and analysis of fishing activity including, but not limited to: catch, species composition, fishing effort, by-catch, discards, area of operations, etc.

Implementation of appropriate management instruments in order to either stimulate or check development of the fishery.

Observing, policing and enforcement of the implementation of management instruments.

Air

Land

MCS

Water

Components of MCS

Tools of MCS

Participatory management plan

Enforceable legislation and controls

Data collection systems - dockside monitoring, observers, sea and port inspections ...

Supporting communications systems

Patrol vessels / Aircrafts/ Up-to-date technology

Regional cooperation

Professional staff

Marine Fisheries in the Indian EEZ

Coastline (km)

Mainland:

Islands

7516.6 km

5422.6 km

2094 km

Continental

shelf

372,424 sq. km

Territorial sea 193,834 sq. km

Exclusive

Economic Zone

2.02 million sq.

km.

Status of MCS in India – Problems

• Broadly spread fisheries production system.

• The policy focus for most part of the developmental journey has been on increasing production.

• Fishers observed to continuously increase their reach to fishing grounds through better engine.

• The skill is passed traditionally or through on job training – no formal education.

Marine Fisheries (Source: CMFRI)

Number of Marine Fishing

Villages

3288 (CMFRI Census 2010)

Fishermen Population about 4 million

Number of Fishing Harbours Major fishing harbours: 6

Minor fishing harbours: 40

Number of Fish Landing

Centres

1511 (CMFRI Census 2010)

Estimated marine Fish

Landing

3,629,823 tonnes (CMFRI, 2016)

Fishing craft 194,490 crafts

mechanized: 37%

motorized: 37%

non-motorized: 26%

Ports and Harbours (Source: Indian Ports Association)

Major Ports 13

Worsening fish stocks!!!

Source: Sea Around Us

In India, of about 46 commonly exploited

species, 11 species are fully exploited and 4 are fully or over-exploited (FAO 2005,

2008).

More importantly, it is likely that waters < 100 m

are over exploited.

Increasing fisheries-dependant population and mechanization

0

50

100

150

200

1980 2005 2010

Th

ou

sa

nd

s

Rapid mechanization of fishing fleet in

India

Powered Non-Powered

Computed from National Marine Fisheries Censuses

1.893

3.999

0.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000

Yr_1980

Yr_2010

Millions

Growth of fisher population in India

Between 1980 & 2010, fisher population

increased by 211%. While national population for this period (1981 & 2011)

has increased by 177%. Additional 1 lakh people being added every year of fisher

population and they seldom moved out of

• Dual jurisdiction: Entry 57 of List 1 of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India specifies Fishing and Fisheries beyond Territorial Waters as Union Subject, whereas Entry 21 of List II speaks of Fisheries as a State Subject.

• ≤ 12 NM – coastal States/Union Territories

• > 12 NM – Central Government

• Key International Agreements:

• 1982 UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• 1995 UN Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA)

• Agreements and decisions of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, etc.

Multiple jurisdiction

Status of MCS in India – Legal Measures

• The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958• The MPEDA Act, 1972• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972• The Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and

other Maritime Zones Act, 1976• The Maritime Zones of India (Regulation of Fishing by Foreign vessels)

Act, 1981 and Rules (1982) framed there under• Coast Guard Act 1978• The Biological Diversity Act, 2002• Different Coastal states and Union Territories adopted Marine Fishing

Regulation Act (The Model Bill was circulated by the UnionGovernment in 1979)

Major MCS measures and their provisions in the MFRA of coastal States/UTs

Roypuram Fishing Harbour, Chennai - 21 January 2018

Status of MCS in India – Ongoing Measures

• Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DADF) set up ReALCraft – an online database for registration of fishing vessels.

• Provision of biometric identity card for fishers in progress.

• The Government is also executing trial for Vessel Monitoring System through introduction of AIS – Automatic Identification System

• ISRO Developed Distress Alert System

Status of MCS – Implementation Issues

• Fishing is a risky operation – humans are not designed to survive in water without training.

• Existing MCS measures do not have any certification criterion/skill requirement for captain/crew.

• There is no entry barrier or capacity caps – fishing vessels over the years have increased in size, reach.

• Neither of the line agencies, except Indian Coast Guard, has mechanism for at-sea on-board inspection.

• Labour conditions or safety of workplace norms are usually not-enforced.

• Fishers often over-worked given the nature of the job.

• Access to adequate life saving equipment is a necessary condition for licensing – often overlooked.

Availability of navigational and life saving equipment in Kerala – Survey Result

Equipment Kozhikode (%) Ernakulam (%) Kollam (%) Overall

GPS 36 70 53 50

Eco sounder 32 70 42 46

VHF 33 70 53 49

Lifebuoy 33 70 53 49

Lifejacket 31 70 34 40

Ref: Ali, Sunil S and Krishnan, M and Jayasankar, J and Landge, Asha and Shenoy, Latha (2014) Evaluation of Compliance of Marine Fisheries of Kerala with Article 8 of FAO CCRF. Fishery Technology, 51. pp. 167-172.

Scope of MCS to prevent Collision – The Issues

• MCS is primarily a tool for fisheries management – more specifically to avoid over-exploitation of fishery resources.

• Conventional MCS do not plan for any prevention strategy directly.

• MCS often planned in isolation by line agencies – multiple use of sea often not-considered/undermined.

• Vis-à-vis, alternative users of sea often do not plan/visualize the scale of fishing operation.

• However, if properly implemented MCS is likely to reduce collision in a number of ways.

Regional and National Initiatives

• On 16-18 January 2008, four member-countries of BOBP-IGO met in Chittagong Bangladesh to review national and regional MCS scenarios• The countries agreed to develop national and subsequently regional MCS

plans.• Adopted ‘Chittagong Resolution”

• Recommend that MCS requirements be comprehensively integrated into every member-country’s fisheries policy and regulatory and managerial frameworks. This would include associated commitments under the CCRF and other regional, inter-regional or global instruments and initiatives;

• Recommend that mandatory requirements for improving implementation of MCS be supplemented by other strategies which involve the participation of fisher communities, families, the media and other stakeholders in order to promote the adoption of a wide range of MCS measures; and

• Recommend that member-countries make full use of the available technologies, including Vessel Monitoring System wherever feasible, in support of MCS.

Subsequently, a National Workshop on MCS in Marine Fisheries in India was held in Chennai from 1-2 December 2008

• The outcome was “National Plan of Action on Implementation of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance in Marine Fisheries”

• On safety issues, the Plan holds that:• The licence or inspection certificate …needs to be renewed

annually. The requirements for issuing a licence should aim at meeting guidelines for design, construction and equipment of fishing vessels; area of operation; type of fishing; insurance; minimum safety equipment; ...

• A comprehensive surveillance mechanism should be evolved and such a mechanism should involve the ICG, State/UT Governments and also the stakeholders.

• The involvement of stakeholders (e.g. fishers) is crucial for effective surveillance both at port and at sea. Emphasis should be laid on shore-based MCS programmes with greater community participation, as it is cost-effective.

Scope of MCS to prevent Collision – Way Ahead

• A good MCS system stabilizes fisheries – making fishing operation more predictable.• The first thing is to establish a system fishing roster including submitting fishing voyage plan

and crew list.• The voyage plan can be corroborated with shipping traffic and shipping lanes.• The voyage plan can be used to inform the shipping traffic about areas where fishing

activities will be concentrated.

• MCS system can ensure minimum navigational education and training of captain and crew.

• It can help in stabilizing boat building activities, which is currently uncontrolled and unaccountable (National Policy for Marine Fishing 2017 has provision for this)

• MCS may be used to notify areas where shipping traffic is high.

• Alternatively, a comprehensive MCS plan can draw out different uses of sea and how to optimize fishing interest.