Throughout the coastal areas of Gujarat, fishermen have been returning from their fishing expeditions with reduced catch, but loads of by-catch.

From sharks to jellyfish everything that is of no commercial or consumption purpose to the fishers either finds itself left entangled in the fishnet or the lifeless organism is flung back into the sea, for gulls to gorge or left for the ocean to bury its own.

Drying Waters

What classifies as by-catch for humans is primarily based on- whether it'll sell in the market as meat or not, regardless of the role being played by each organism in maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem. Now that the areas nearer to the coast are continually reporting low catch of easily available fishes like Tuna, the boats and fishing vessels chart an even deeper course into the oceans looking for fresh pools of resources, unaware of the early warning signs that are presenting themselves to the community.

Signs that show clear erosion of marine habitats, and of slowly dying oceans.

Unsustainable methods of fishing through trawling, gill-nets, and hook-n-line are prominent to meet the increasing demands of humankind, which itself is increasing in numbers by the day.

Every morning trawlers leave the coastal city of Dwarka to go for fishing expeditions which extend from a week to a month, depending upon the time to fish for a profitable amount.

Every fishing haul comes back with less and less catch. The numbers have been drastically dropping in areas nearer to the coast of Dwarka. With an ecosystem slowly destabilizing to a

livelihood industry that's gradually crippling, unsustainable means of fishing paint quite a morose image for the coming generations, if communities and governments alike do not put countermeasures in place.

A few feet away from me lay a Spadenose Shark entangled in the fishing net - a Near Threatened species as per IUCN- that gets reduced to a bycatch for the fishers.

His sons, Akram and Ahmed have been key in using the teachings of their classrooms to find and attract new dealers- people who would buy entire stocks at an increased price. But, even there the hardships are plenty-

“The new firms and private organizations have controlled the entire market. It is getting increasingly difficult to find vendors who want a few kilos of Tuna from us where we can't even promise a steady amount each week when there are firms delivering fresh catch in tonnes on the promised day with the promised weight in fish.” says the younger son, Ahmed. “How are we to compete with these rich business owners.” he continues as if asking himself- imploring his own heart to provide an answer.

“For a family that dependens on fishing and derives its livelihood solely from a boat- it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete with private industries that hire trawlers for fishing.” says, Aslam Khan, a fisherman from Dwarka.

“There was a time when I used to earn enough to not only feed my family of five but also provide them with proper education up till graduation. But now, the same sons have come back after graduation to help around the deck as there’s not even enough to hire extra hands from the shores.”

As we reach nearer to the docks, to the landing site in Veraval another story awaited us-

Hundreds of boats- massive vessels docked from one end of the horizon to another- its fishers lying out in the sun- having a dull day. I enquired and true to my guess most of them were out of work. With coastal areas running devoid of fish, a lot of boats and their fishing crew mostly found themselves docked for months before being able to get out into the sea to have a fair chance at catching something that would provide a decent means of sustenance. After all, it is better to invest in fuel, labor, and other logistics sporadically than invest frequently with a chance of coming back with nothing at all.

Author’s Note: This is a personal article written while working on a photo project commissioned by WWF Hong Kong and WWF India on Bycatch Reduction Devices and Shark Conservation in Gujarat.