Towards attaining sustainable fishing operations in Kerala

Abstract

Kerala is one of the major marine fish producing states of India contributing about 20% of the marine fish landings. FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (CCRF) is a tool which aims to attain sustainability through responsible fishing practices. Evaluation of compliance of marine fisheries of Kerala with provisions of Article 8 (Fishing Operations) of CCRF is an indicator of the level of implementation of the Code. In the present study, a self assessment questionnaire-based approach developed by FAO was used to gather information on the relevant sections of Article 8 of the Code from the selected experts using Google survey form for evaluation. The review of marine fisheries sector as per Article 8 of the code was done by 29 experts and an overall score of 45 percent, below the satisfactory level was obtained. This evaluation would facilitate State Regulatory authorities to suggest measures for enforcement, conservation and sustainable management of marine fisheries of Kerala.