Sea link - Part I
Times Food Processing Journal presents a report on the
marine seafood supply chain in India - its current state of
affairs and the influence of import requirements
Approximately 50 million people
worldwide depend on fishing for all
or most of their family earnings, while
another 150 million depend on fish processing
and the fleet servicing industry. More than 10
million work on 2.5 million small-scale fishing
vehicles and account for 50 per cent of the
world's catch.
An increase in the number of artisanal
fishermen and industrial vessel activity in
coastal waters are the mains causes of fish
stock depletion, since coastal over-fishing is a
leading problem in developing countries (FAO
2001). To keep increasing the fish supply,
aquaculture is becoming an important
occupation. However, the environmental risks
of aquaculture include water pollution,
wetland losses and mangrove destruction.
Sustainability of marine fish stocks is a
global concern. According to the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), "An estimated 25 per cent of major
marine fish stocks are under-exploited or
moderately exploited. About 47 per cent of the
main stocks or species groups are fully exploited
and are producing catches that have reached,
or are very close to, their maximum sustainable
limits. Another 18 per cent of stocks or species
groups are reported as over-exploited. The
remaining 10 per cent of stocks have become
significantly depleted or are recovering from
depletion and are far less productive than they
used to be. Catches of commercially-valuable
fish species may be surpassing permitted levels
by over 300 per cent due to illegal and
unregulated fishing (FAO 2002)."
Fishing methods such as bottom-trawling
uproot the ecosystem at the bottom of the sea.
Drift nets covering miles of ocean result in
catches of diverse fish varieties. Some of these
methods are banned in many countries.
Sustainability in the seafood industry depends
on the conservation of fish stocks so they are
not depleted and continue to be a part of the
common man's diet. Several measures are
adopted at national and international levels to
promote sustainable fisheries. In 1982, the
United Nations Convention established that
each country was permitted an exclusive 200
mile economic zone to conserve fish stocks. In
1992, the UN established a treaty banning
long driftnets on open seas. Subsequently in
1995, it strengthened the monitoring and
harvesting of migratory fish. In India, in
accordance with the 1999 notification of the
Central government, most coastal states
introduced a monsoon ban on fishing
(specifically fishing with trawlers). Although
the ban was prompted by concerns for
fishermen safety (since venturing into the sea
is dangerous in the monsoon), another key
motive was to arrest the depleting fish stocks.
Sustainability of fisheries is distinct from
sustainability of the fishery sector. While the
former deals mostly with resource
management, the latter is also concerned with
the sustainability of the supply chain, such as
fisherman livelihood issues, employment issues
for the industry and income adequacy. The
Indian government and other state
governments have introduced several plans
that target various actors in the supply chain.
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