THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS
VOL. 35 | ISSUE. 09 | FRIDAY | 26 AUGUST 2011 |
Tuna Mission 2009-2014
The hype around Tuna Mission may not be a farce,
but the mission might crash land before take-off due to the haphazard and
piecemeal way of implementation. Lack of proper coordination between different
agencies involved and the half-hearted approach of Department of Fisheries, the
nodal agency, is pushing the mission backwards.
By Zubair Ahmed
A department, which has miserably failed to
promote fisheries at local level and is groping through a dark tunnel, has
ventured into an ambitious project, without men, machinery and vision. On
collision with everything under its patronage, the department under Dr
Krishnamurthy has already lost its face and confidence beyond
recovery.
The genesis of Tuna Mission 2009-2014 under such
a department is indeed a very interesting story. The continental shelf area of India Islands
is 6.00 lakh sq kms, accounting for 30% of the total EEZ of the country The
fishing zone under the command of Andaman and Nicobar Administration is upto 12
Nautical miles. If by a rough estimate, from the Northern tip to the Southern
tip of the Islands , the area upto 12 Nautical
Miles is calculated the area under the licensing command of the administration
will be approximately 44000 sq kms.
The estimated potential yield of tuna resources
in the EEZ around the Islands is about 64500 MT. Out of these three varieties
are oceanic and available only in the deep sea, which are commercially viable
in the international export market - Bigeye tuna - 500 MT, Yellow Fin Tuna -
24000 MT and Skipjack Tuna - 500 MT. There are three other varieties known as
Neritic Tuna, available in the territorial or coastal zone with a potential of
approximately 18000 MT which has no value in export market and has only local
market. But, Khatta Bhangdi is a big no for locals. The Tuna Mission proclaims
that the above varieties of Tuna is available in the Exclusive Economic Zone,
but it never mentions that how much tuna is available in the 45000 sq kms,
which comes under the licensing command of the administration. The three high
value variety is oceanic variety and highly migratory in nature. And it's a
fact that the assessment of the migratory route of tuna is still unknown and a
mystery.
According to experts, there are two branches of
tuna which migrates to Andaman
Sea Eden
and diverts eastwards towards Pakistan ,
Gujarat coast and comes down to Kerala
Coast , from where it splits into two
branches and moves towards Lakshadweep and
Vizag. It is still unknown about the movement route of tuna from either of
these branches. All assessment of the route of tuna migration is based on
assumptions.
As per the Mission, the Department of Fisheries
with the technical help of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) on the
basis of FSI’s findings will be initially installing 10 Fish Aggregating
Devices (FAD) at various locations in the Islands within the territorial
waters. The use of FADs to attract and hold species of fishes like
tuna is a recent significant development in the tuna fisheries in many
countries. Speaking to LOA, Dr NV
Vineeth Kumar, Director, NIOT said that deployment of FADs has been quite
successful in Lakshadweep , where fishermen
were trained to catch fish around the FADs. He said that the aggregation of
tuna fish has also increased around the FADs. However, the catch is that the
most of the FADs will be placed in the coastal zone for the benefit of local fishermen with small crafts, and in this
zone, deep sea vessels are not permitted to fish, which will adversely affect
the tuna catch. Moreover, the quality of tuna available in the coastal zone is
not of export quality. High quality tuna variety is available in deep sea,
where only big vessels can venture.
Why Andaman and Nicobar have been made the base
of Tuna Mission is also questionable. The Department of Fisheries, mired in
various controversies due to its inefficiency and inaction in promoting
fisheries at local level, has been made the nodal agency for implementation of
this grand mission. “I cannot understand, why MPEDA is not fully involved in
this project. MPEDA is treated as a pariah by the department,” said Bhaskar,
President Andaman Chamber of Commerce. He also added that the local fishermen
are not competent enough to catch tuna. Most astonishing fact is that in a
report published in 2000 by Fisheries Survey of India, which is active in
surveys and reporting about fish aggregation reports that the hooking rate of
Yellow fin tuna is just 0.83%, Bigeye tuna - 0.003% and skipjack tuna is only
0.03%, which means that the combined hooking rate per 100 hooks will be hardly
1% of tuna. Moreover, the combined catch
per 100 hooks including shark and other fish species is just 37%. However, Dr
D.L. Ramalingam, Zonal Director, FSI told LOA that 1% of tuna is a huge
quantity and is profitable. The Mission Mission
The size of a Bigeye tuna is approximately 170
kg, Yellowfin 160-180 kg and Skipjack about 40 kg. The department is planning
to convert and improve about 200 motorized dinghies (also called boats) for
tuna fishing. These dinghies cannot venture into deep sea for tuna fishing and
even if they catch tuna of the size mentioned above, how much quantity can
these dinghies carry? Will they be able to maintain the export quality of fish
onboard the dinghies with small iceboxes? And if the modified small motorized
traditional crafts fish in the coastal areas, they will be harvesting the
Neritic tuna, which is not preferred in the International export markets. This
variety does not have a local market too as the local population equally detest
this variety. Likewise, the tuna specific crafts of 10-12 mtrs proposed by the
department on a subsidy of 50% are also not fit for tuna fishing. Tuna fish is
prone to histamine formation after decomposition, which is highly allergic and
not acceptable for export. It requires to be preserved in a controlled
temperature, which is impossible on the crafts suggested by the department. A
fishing expert speaking to LOA on anonymity said that the department is not
interested in involving premier institutions like CIFTNET and Central Institute
of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) based in Kerala, who have the technical expertise
in designing tuna specific crafts and training the fishermen.
With time running out and no specific plan at
place to identify prospective fishermen either from the Islands or mainland for
tuna fishing, the various components of the Mission is lagging behind like any
other developmental project in the Islands. The department has not initiated
any action to develop ancillary infrastructure required once the mission takes
off. On the ground, the department has
initiated the process of deployment of FADs with the technical help of FSI and
NIOT. It has also started conversion of small boats. However, Bhaskar is
skeptical and told LOA that this mission is not going to happen by 2014. “How can such a mission be implemented in
piecemeal basis? It should be taken up in turnkey basis and implemented with
high zeal,” said Bhaskar. But, Dr
Ramalingam, Zonal Director, FSI was very positive and said that conclusions
cannot be drawn so quickly. He further added that FADs will not just aggregate
tuna. There will be other fishes too. When asked whether the FADs will be
placed on the migratory route of tuna, he said that It is impossible to assess
the route and FADs will be placed at locations as per the surveys.
The FADs, to be deployed will be useful for the
local fishermen and the catch will naturally improve. But, how is it going to
help the Tuna Mission cannot be predicted.
The only Fishing Training Centre in Port Blair
has been auspiciously closed down due to the inactivity of the present
director. The complete infrastructure is in shambles. Now, once again, in the
name of Tuna Mission, funds will flow to revive it and later leave to the mercy
of nature, by the time the administration realize that the mission was
impossible. However, in a year, the incumbent director will be on
superannuation and in 2014, when the mission is supposed to reach its pinnacle,
he will not be there to blame.
