Dear readers

Being the quintessential Bengali, fish is my weakness. The nutritional security it provides apart from the fact that it engages millions of Indians in a sustainable incremental trade, makes ‘fish-eating’ all the more worthwhile. With more than 10 per cent of global biodiversity in fish and shellfish species, Indian fisheries is poised for a technological upgrade to emerge as a vibrant global and national player.

Hilsa however, a flavourful delicacy and a favourite of many, is facing a heavy decline. CMFRI data shows an alarming declining trend from 84,269 tonnes in 2010 to 21,901 tonnes in 2011 with a further drop in commercial landings recording 9,981 tonnes in 2012. The reasons cited are varied, from seasonality, increased fishing effort, harvesting of juveniles and changes in estuarine hydrometry to climate change. The Indian mackerel too is experiencing a drop in landings from a peak of 2.79 lakh tonnes in 2011 to about 1.1 lakh tonnes during 2012. On the other hand, CMFRI also showcases oil sardines benefiting from enhanced sea surface temperatures with landings registered at an all time high of 7.2 lakh tonnes during 2012, a 62 per cent growth over 2008. Similar trends were also noticed in the landings of ribbon fish, carangids and croakers.

This issue of G’nY deals primarily with fisheries—inland, marine, aquaculture, technological innovations and so on. The other section however highlights an important debate about India’s exclusionist policies towards primitive tribal groups, with special reference to the Jarawa of Andaman. I welcome your comments as always and hope you have a great reading session.