FishSource

India Palk Bay blue swimming crab - gillnet (FIP)

Last Updated:

Progress Rating: A

Evaluation Start Date: 2019-06-03

Type: Basic

Status: Active

FIP Lead: Crab Meat Processors Association (CMPA)

Stock Profile Link
Blue swimming crab - India

Comments:

The Tamil Nadu government has created a dugong conservation area in the Palk Bay. With this new stage 4 reported, FIP becomes A rated.

1. FIP Development	Feb 19	Fishery assessment or scoping document made public 27 February 2019 — MSC pre-assessment made public
2. FIP Launch	Sep 19	Confirmation of project participants 16 September 2019 — Participants confirmed
2. FIP Launch	Jul 22	Workplan made public 10 July 2022 — Updated 2022 workplan 3 June 2019 — Workplan made public
3. FIP Implementation	Dec 22	FIP activities undertaken 14 December 2022 — The Tamil Nadu State government enforcement division has increased enforcement efforts and issuing sanctions 1 October 2022 — The FIP continues to collect data on the berried female; data from June 2022- October 2022 has been made available 1 June 2022 — The Department of Fisheries, Tamil Nadu is vigilant and is imposing penalties and fines on vessels without license. 1 April 2022 — The FIP continues to collect data on a monthly basis on the berried female; data from November 2021- April 2022 is available 1 December 2021 — FIP conducted training on best practices to release juvenile and berried crabs 12 November 2021 — Village level committee meeting minutes and district level meeting minutes have been made available 1 November 2021 — Landing data analysis from fishing trips conducted in November 2021. 1 May 2021 — Outreach posters were desiged by CMPA in local language to create awareness among crab processors 1 May 2021 — Tamil Nadu Government is still in the process of strengthening its Marine Enforcement wing; newly formed enforcement wing now has officers in all districts. 1 May 2021 — The percentage of crabs landed below Minimum Legal Size (MLS) was 5.64% and 6.23% respectively during 2020 and 2021 28 April 2021 — A comprehensive study was conducted by OMCAR foundation on marine mamma stranding (with a focus on dugongs) along Northern Pal Bay from 2009 to 2020. 1 December 2020 — CMPA has written letters to concerned authorities of Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam and Trichy for details of fishing craft registration 1 May 2020 — Majority of the BSC fishing villages follow the proposed mesh size (90-110mm) as recommended in the BSC management Plan 1 May 2020 — Data collection continues to build maps detailing habitats and potential fishery impacts 1 May 2020 — Decision on optimum fleet size of gillnetters by the scientists of CMFRI for Tamil Nadu to increase the current fleet size of 2571 netters by 26% 1 May 2020 — All villages involved in crab fishing have a monitoring system to stop capture of juveniles and berried crab 1 May 2020 — The catch composition of BSGN and other fishing gears operated in the Palk bay region has been assessed in the Project area 5 March 2020 — FIP continues to collect data on a monthly basis in the format suggested by CMFRI 11 December 2019 — All BSC fishing crafts are registered with the district level State Fisheries Department and are being monitored by the enforcement wing 6 November 2019 — The FIP has sent letters to Marine Police Department to help in incidents of sea-cow (Dugong) poaching/catching in the area.
4. Improvements in Fishing Practices and Fishery Management	Oct 22	Verifiable improvement in policy/management and fishing practices 6 October 2022 — The Tamil Nadu government has created a dugong conservation area in the Palk Bay. 18 December 2020 — Increase in BMT score 1.2.4; Stock assessment completed 18 December 2020 — Increase in BMT score 3.1.2; The Government of Tamil Nadu has formed a four tier Co-Management Council to manage Marine Fisheries sector which is now functional
5. Improvements on the Water	—	Verifiable improvement on the water
6. MSC certification (optional)	—	MSC certificate made public