About Purse Seine Fishing:
- Purse seines are used in the open ocean to target dense schools of single-species pelagic (midwater) fish species of various sizes.
- Pelagic fish are those that swim in the water column of the open ocean, up to approximately 600 feet deep.
- A purse seine is a huge wall of netting that is set in a circle around a school of fish.
- Once the fish school is encircled, the net is closed underneath the school by hauling the purse line at the bottom of the net, which is called “pursing”.
- As the volume of the net becomes smaller, the fish become more concentrated, and the catch is harvested by either hauling the net aboard or bringing it alongside the vessel.
- The size can vary depending on the vessel they are deployed from, the size of the mesh, and the target species.
- Advantages:
- Purse-seine fishing in open water is generally considered to be an efficient form of fishing.
- It has no contact with the seabed and can have low levels of bycatch (accidental catch of unwanted species).
- It can also be used to catch fish congregating around fish aggregating devices.
- Why is it banned in some states?
- In some States, it is linked to concerns about the decreasing stock of small, pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and trevally on the western coasts.
- Because this fishing method uses a wide net to draw in not only the targeted fish but also at-risk varieties, including turtles.
- Fishing is a State subject, and the management plan for marine fisheries in territorial waters is the job of the states (Under the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution).
- Currently, bans on purse seine fishing are implemented in the territorial waters of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Odisha, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands up to 12 nautical miles.
