“Coastal communities are already aware of the need to protect endangered species.”

What does the ocean mean to you and your community?

I am part of the Kharwa community and grew up in Porbandar, a coastal city in Gujarat, the state with the longest coastline in the country. The Kharwa people are a fishing community that arrived to Gujarat centuries ago. Ever since, fishing has been the main livelihood and the ocean has always played a central role in the lives of the people in my community – it is even considered sacred. My family and I lived near the sea and I spent a large part of my childhood playing cricket, fishing and picnicking on the beach.

What changes have you witnessed?

Many things have changed. My grandparents were small-scale fishermen who used gillnets and hooks and lines, whereas today you see many trawlers out at sea. Meanwhile, fish catches have fallen significantly. As a child, I only had to spend a few hours fishing to take home some fish for my family; fishing now takes a lot of effort. The beach has changed too: many shops and roads have been built, and much more plastic and other waste washes up on the coast. More than once we caught fish with plastic material inside them.

Many fishermen need to invest first before being able to start operating. Because of this and a decline in catches, combined with a rising demand for seafood export, many people started working in fish factories. Small-scale fishing is slowly decreasing. There are visible climate change impacts in the region, such as more frequent and unpredictable monsoons, causing circumstances that increasingly disrupt fishing activities. All this together makes it very hard to earn a living as a fisherman.

What inspired you to contribute to a healthier ocean?

Growing up, I watched my community struggle with declining catches and insufficient income. This has not been easy to witness and has influenced my life decisions, like studying fisheries science. For my masters, I studied bullseye (Priacanthus hamrur) – a fish species that is common in Veraval, another city in Gujarat. I looked at population health based on fertility, size and food habitats. Based on the data, I developed recommendations for a sustainable fishery in the area. Because of this project, I realised that by conducting research I can contribute to solutions to restore a viable, sustainable livelihood.

Currently, I work with WWF-India and the local fishing communities on tackling the bycatch of sharks in trawl nets in Gujarat. This initiative is very important: India has 160 species of sharks and rays known to be found in commercial fishing zones and ranks third globally for shark landings. The growth of industrial fisheries, combined with the low reproduction and growth rates of sharks, endanger these magnificent species. Shark bycatch is poorly documented in India, for this reason we gather baseline data and identify solutions.

We are in the second year of the project and it has been a challenging journey. In the first year of the project we focused on understanding the species’ characteristics and the percentage of bycatch of sharks in trawl nets in the Veraval area. Since we had to assess each catch landing and process all data, the on-site data collection could have been very time consuming. A mobile application helped accelerate this process by compiling and analysing the data. But sometimes fishermen hesitated sharing data if they caught certain shark species as bycatch, because they knew that they are endangered. In those situations it really helped that I am part of the community and have a relationship with them based on mutual trust.

We are currently applying the information we gathered last year to assess the environmental and economic feasibility of adapting bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) to reduce shark bycatch in trawl fishing, and are studying the effectiveness of existing devices. This test phase is carried out in collaboration with the Central Institute for Fishery Technology. The third and last step will be engaging stakeholders to adopt BRDs and establish mechanisms to encourage communities to use the devices. The BRDs can create a higher catch value by the quality of the catches, shortening fishing trips and lowering fuel costs. It is important that trawl fishers are aware of these benefits.

How can you bring these local solutions to scale?

The problem with shark bycatch we experience here in Gujarat is also a global issue; this project could be adapted to be replicated in other parts of India and the rest of the world. Tackling bycatch addresses important marine conservation issues, such as overfishing, unsustainable fishing practices and illegal wildlife trade. So, a project like this can have an even bigger impact than reducing shark bycatch; it has the potential to contribute to sustainable fisheries and healthy fish populations while safeguarding people’s livelihoods.

I have noticed that coastal communities are already aware of the need to protect endangered species. In Gujarat, for instance, most fishermen do their utmost to rescue whale sharks that have been accidentally caught in their nets, sometimes even by cutting their nets while the catch escapes. These communities care about marine resources, but are facing depleting resources and uncertain livelihoods, which makes identifying solutions and putting them in place key for a sustainable future.

You are an Ocean Witness now! What final message would you like to share?

Working closely with communities on sustainable fishing practices is important to ensure that these solutions are viable and contribute both to healthy ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods. Moreover, fishing communities often can help gather the information needed for an effective design and management of sustainable fisheries. We need coastal communities to protect our oceans.