How well does Indian fisheries policy engage with fisheries biology? Exploring the science-policy interface of coastal capture fisheries along the west coast of India.

Abstract

India ranks among the highest producers of marine capture fisheries globally. Post-independence, India’s marine capture fisheries has transformed from an artisanal to a highly mechanised-motorised enterprise. The last two decades have witnessed a gathering overfishing crisis in Indian marine fisheries. The continued sustainability of existing stocks ideally requires an enabling evidence-based policy that integrates biological knowledge from conventional as well as traditional knowledge systems. We conducted a detailed textual analysis of the last 75 years of Indian fisheries policy, focussing on the west coast, to determine how meaningfully it has been informed by available fish biology. We show that both central and regional policy documents have made occasional attempts to invoke biological and ecological understanding in policy formulation. However, its application has been ad-hoc. For instance, mesh size restrictions vary dramatically between neighbouring states. Also, an annual fishing ban overlaps with the breeding periods of less than 40% of commercially fished species. More worryingly, fisheries policy maintains an unchanging narrative of increasing production despite acknowledging coastal overcapacity. Production potential estimates are regularly upwardly revised to justify further intensification, and the response to overcapacity is to promote spatial fixes while continuing to incentivise coastal fisheries. We conclude that to address overfishing, Indian fisheries policy needs to reimagine fish as elements of interacting biology, with complex life histories, and with functional roles in communities and ecosystems. A scientifically informed fisheries policy is a necessary although not sufficient step towards sustainability, which additionally requires a bridging of knowledge gaps and effective on-ground implementation. Data availability statementNo new empirical data was generated in this study. All policy documents referred to in this study have been listed in supplementary material (Appendix 1).