Destruction of Marine habitats in Gulf of Mannar: Thinking behind Trans-boundaries and national fishing economy

The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) sea of both India and Srilanka side has biodiversity-rich ecosystems that are providing valuable eco system services. Small scale fishing is the backbone of people living around the GOM. The coral... [ view full abstract ]

The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) sea of both India and Srilanka side has biodiversity-rich ecosystems that are providing valuable eco system services. Small scale fishing is the backbone of people living around the GOM. The coral reefs and other marine ecosystems are very important to the lives and livelihoods of these coastal ecosystem dependent communities. However, human interference and management shortcomings have put this ecosystem under tremendous pressure. Bottom trawling is one of worse method caused heavily to the ecosystem health of GOM as perceived by local people of both side.

This paper draws on socioeconomic assessments and monitoring carried out at selected sites in Tamilnadu and Srilanka in 2015. The tools used include a combination of participatory appraisal methods, interviews and surveys of 450 households and 850 individuals to understand the peoples dependence on marine ecosystem, and also compares the attitudes of artisan and trawler fishers towards conservation and management.

There were solution echoed by fishing community which emphasized total ban on bottom traveling in both sides of GoM and also to increased the size of the mess. The management of the marine habitat also needs to be rethinked from present state centric management system. The marine habitat and reef areas needs to be managed under community Controlled conservation reserve (CCCR) based on their traditional governance system which recognizing more explicitly the interdependence between human well-being and ecosystem health and the need to maintain ecosystems productivity for present and future generations.