Fishing embargo

the Kerala government will soon file a review petition challenging a Supreme Court (sc) order issued on July 10, 2006, imposing a uniform ban on mechanised fishing in five states. The ban is applicable from June 10 to August 15 each year in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

Farming fish and mussels

When bad management and increasing demand for inland fish led to plummeting stocks, fishing villages around the Ashtamudi estuary in Kollam district, Kerala, have come up with their own solution. Fisherfolk, now earmark a certain area of the estuary to allow young fish to grow -- a sort of rough-and-ready fish reserve.

GPS to aid fishing

perception, experience and luck -- these are the three elements used by our fisherfolk to ensure a successful catch. Now they have a new aid -- the Global Positioning System (gps). During the recently held Indian National Science Congress, the need to introduce the system across the country was highlighted. However, its viability is a subject of a raging controversy.

Fishing with pesticides

for fisherfolk and traders in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, catching fish is child's play, thanks to harmful pesticides such as endosulfan. The fisherfolk contaminate the upper reaches of rivers such as the Teesta and the Jaldhaka with the organochlorine pesticide. This activity is carried out mainly around the Mainaguri and Dhupguri blocks. The poisoned fish are then caught downstream and sold to make a quick buck.

The devil and the 'deep sea' fishing

In the Indian context, the term 'deep sea' has very little to do with depth. It refers to India's Exclusive Economic Zone (eez): the 188 nautical miles of waters beyond the 12-mile territorial sea.

Fishy methods

The use of destructive fishing practices is wreaking havoc on aquatic resources in the Malakand river network in Pakistan. A survey conducted in Malakand and Swat districts revealed that 65 per cent of fishing in the region is done by dynamiting, and four per cent by using Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt) and pesticides. It was found that 15 kilogrammes of dynamite is blasted every month in the area.

Dialogues of identity

The documentary on the Onges tribe of the Little Andaman Island had an advantage that the panel discussion lacked. Sonali Dutta, the director, was showing rare footage. The panel discussion for most parts, on the other hand, was leaded with theoretical meanderings along known paths.

THAILAND

A revised law of the Thailand government banning the use of fishing gear during the peak breeding season cannot be enforced due to strong opposition from commercial fisherfolk, stated Dhammarong Prakobboon, the country's fisheries department chief. Studies by the department indicate that a ban on the use of fishing gear helped increase fish stocks. "However, it was impossible to enforce the ban this year because commercial fisherfolk strongly opposed it," said Prakobboon.

Turtle graveyard

the Orissa coast, between Paradip and Jatadhar has been littered with thousands of dead Olive Ridley sea turtles. Dead turtles have also been found on the stretch between Harishpur and Devi river mouth, said Biswajit Mohanty, project coordinator of Operation Kachhapa, a conservation programme launched to save the turtles.

Olive Ridley deaths

the killing of endangered Olive Ridley turtles continues unabated on the Orissa coast. According to field observers, almost 659 turtles have died on the coastal stretch at Gahirmatha during the last three months. In 1999, at least 20,000 turtles had died while swimming ashore.