Conservation of Trochus and Turbo in Andaman waters
1997
Krishnamurthy, V. | Soundararajan, R. (Directorate of Fisheries, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Port Blair, Andamans (India))
Large gastropods Trochus and Turbo have been fished in Andaman waters since the early 1920s. The fishing was regulated under the "Andaman and Nicobar Islands Fishery Regulation 1938" and rules framed thereunder. But the "Shell Fishing Rules", specifically dealing with collection of shells for commercial purposes, came into existence during 1978. Information on the resource characteristics of Trochus and Turbo is only available for the period between 1930 and 1940. After that decade, there has been no systematic studies on the resources, and only some data exist on catches and distribution in shallow areas at a few locations. However, the two shell resources display a declining trend in catch indicating considerable overfishing. Depletion of the stock is most severe for T. marmoratus. The stock of this species has to be revived totally. T. niloticus is still available in good numbers, but certain conservation measures are required for sustainable utilisation of this species. We discuss the status of the resources over several decades to the present, contraints in the conservation management, and the strategies proposed for effective resource management.
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