Non-selective fishing gears and sustainability issues in the Hooghly-Matlah estuary in West Bengal, India
2009
Remesan, M. P. | Pravin, P. | Meenakumari, B.
Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system in the state of West Bengal (India) is estimated to cover about 8000 km² sustaining important multi-species commercial fishery. A study was undertaken during April 2005, to find out the nature and present status of the fishing gear and practices and the results are presented in this paper. Gill net, bag net, lift net, drag net, purse net, seine net, cast net, skimming net, lines, barriers and traps are the predominant gears operated. Been jal or Behunti jal is a stationary bag net with a wide mouth of about 27 m and with very small codend mesh size (about 2 mm). Char-pata jal is a screen barrier made of netting with very small meshes. Chat ber is a fine meshed seine operated for harvesting juveniles. Sitki jal is a skimming net made of polyethylene netting of very small mesh size (about 2 mm), used for fry and fingerling collection in the middle reaches of the estuary. All these nets are non-selective and highly destructive in nature. The paper discusses the design, rigging and operational aspects of the important gears in the Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system and suggests improvements required in the context of responsible fishing.
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