|
PARTICIPATORY
MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF LOBSTER RESOURCES ALONG THE
INDIAN COAST
Prof S.
Kannaiyan
Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai - 41
Along the Tamil Nadu coast
lobsters are mainly landed as a by catch by trawlers. There
also exists a targeted fishery for lobsters by
bottom-set-gillnets and trammel nets by artisanal fishermen.
Handpicking of lobsters by divers is also prevalent in certain
pockets.
Drastic decline in lobsters during recent/years is a great
concern and the resource is facing acute pressure and is
likely to vanish if regulatory measures are not enforced
immediately. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government
of India has implemented Minimum. Legal Size (MLS) for export
of lobsters. However this is not strictly enforced and
undersized lobsters and egg bearing lobsters are continued to
be exported. The maritime Government should bring in fishing
regulations for sustainability of the resource and for
conservation of the resource for future generations. If
regulations are not enforced immediately decline in landings
will continue and the lobster resource in Tamil Nadu may meet
the same fate of the slipper lobster fishery along the Mumbai
coast. The slipper lobster fishery along the Mumbai coast
collapsed in 1994 and the fishery has not shown any sign of
recovery so far.
Lobster is a high value
resource mostly exported to international markets and annual
export is to the tune of Rs.60 crores. Though widely
distributed along the Indian coasts, commercial fishery is
located only along the northwest, southwest and southeast
coasts. Annual landing has declined from the peak of 4075t in
1985 to 1300t in 2005 and Tamil Nadu contributed nearly 24% of
the total landings. In Tamil Nadu also landings declined
drastically from a peak of998t in 1998 to 305t in 2005.
Species composition
Though 30 species of lobsters are known to be distributed
along the Indian coast, only 5 species contribute to the
commercial fishery. Among the spiny lobsters, Panulirus
polyphagus, P. homarus and P. ornatus and the deep sea lobster
Puerulus sewelli contribute to the fishery. The slipper
lobster Thenus oriental~s is also a component of the
commercial catch, which is mainly exploited along tht:
northwest and southeast coasts. Tamil Nadu has the richest
diversity of lobsters along the Indian coast.
Apart from the major commercial species, P. homarus, P.
ornatus, P. polyphagus, T. orientalis and P. sewelli, other
species such as P. versicolor, P. pencillatus and P. longipes
longipes are also landed in smaller quantities. Recently a new
species of deep sea lobster Palinustus waguensis is caught
along the Tamil Nadu coast. More than 95% of the live lobster
export is shared by Tamil Nadu.
* Special address delivered during the inauguration of the
workshop on Participatory Management and Conservation of
Lobster Resources along with Indian Coast at Kasimedu, Chennai
on 6th March, 2007 |
