Detecting drastic declines in a poor elasmobranch fisheries region

 India has contributed largely to global elasmobranch stocks and yet there is a paucity of biological, socio-economic and ecological data to construct effective management plans. While Odisha does not rank highly (2%) in... [ view full abstract ]

 India has contributed largely to global elasmobranch stocks and yet there is a paucity of biological, socio-economic and ecological data to construct effective management plans. While Odisha does not rank highly (2%) in elasmobranch fisheries in India, there has been a 47.1% reduction in elasmobranch catch in just the past year. We conducted a scoping study to understand the trends in elasmobranch fisheries with respect to demographics, evolution of crafts and gear and trade in coastal Odisha.

Based on gear use and the scale of fishing, three major fishing harbours were considered. Using a semi structured questionnaire, we interviewed 40 fishers, representative of trawl and long line fisheries. We established that elasmobranchs are still largely a part of by –catch and are seasonal in nature. Approximately 50% of the fishers mentioned a reduction in size classes, quantities, absence of species once abundantly captured (such as the sawfish shark), increase in catch post mechanization and longer fishing durations in deeper waters to compensate for the money invested per fishing trip.Understanding these dynamics in elasmobranch fisheries enables us to explore the drivers of stock declines and check the extent to which they contribute to species specific declines. Such information may also allow us to gain crucial insights on the causes and the declines of elasmobranch fisheries elsewhere in country.