MCS Pre-assesment completed

Participants list confirmed

Workplan made public

A stakeholder consultation workshop for the finalization of the National Plan of Action for the conservation and management of sharks in India was held; the draft NPOA report has outlined an implementation framework for the National Plan of Action. 

The Government of Kerala has issued a government order supporting the use of square mesh cod-end in fishing, aiming to ensure responsible practices, reduce trawl bycatch, and promote sustainability by allowing juvenile escape.

The FIP participated in the 7th meeting of the SFMC.

CMFRI has produced an interim report on the status of Aristeus alcocki, Heterocarpus woodmasoni and H chani in the FIP; a total of 31.2 kg deep-sea shrimp samples were collected between November and December 2023. The report also indicates that the stock of N. randalli and N. japonicus harvested by trawls in Kerala are marginally overfished.

The Kerala government and the Fishery Commission have continued to conduct regular inspections and enforce regulations; recent enforcement efforts have cracked down on the prohibition of juvenile fishing. 

CMFRI has published a report on the stock status of commercial marine fish resources in India; the assessment includes two target species and five secondary species of the FIP. The report has assessed two of the deep-sea shrimp species, A. alcocki and H. chani, and five of the secondary species, (Solenocera spp., Priacanthus spp., Sepia spp., Nemipterus spp., Uroteuthis spp.). The study has found that the fishery is likely sustainable. 

The FIP has supplied three square-mesh codends to a trawler based in Kollam as part of an initiative to minimize bycatch and catch of juvenile fish. The owner of the vessel will document data and offer bycatch samples for analysis to facilitate a comparative study with results obtained when using diamond mesh codends.

The FIP has signed an MoU with the Research Organisation Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI); the partnership will progress stock assessment development. 

The FIP has signed an MoU with the School of Industrial Fisheries at the Cochin University of Science and Technology; the partnership will work to finalize the harvest strategy and the FMP.

Paper published on bycatch mitigation in Indian trawl fisheries through the use of converting bycatch into edible resources; the paper discusses the impact of bycatch mitigation efforts like the implementation of minimum legal size in reducing the juvenile component in bycatch

Paper published on the age analysis of the deep-sea shrimp from the Indian coast, using growth bands; paper will help form the basis of the stock assessment

FIP participants held meeting to discuss ongoing activities; brief activity report made available

Log sheets from the "model" vessel have been collected and analyzed

Vessel training was conducted for 20 trawl boat owners who received square mesh cod-end from the Kerala Government 

Results of the initial square mesh cod-end panel study from the trawler field trials have been published in the SSNI Newsletter highlighting differences in gear type retention of fish

Assessment of species vulnerability and resilience published; two deepsea shrimps (Solenocera spp.) have been classified as most resilient

An alternate ecological risk assessment of species has been developed and published: The ECOSIM simulations have been conducted by incorporating time series on landings into the ECOPATH model

FIP has taken steps to introduce model boats from four major harbours of Kerala with square mesh cod-end, vessel tracking system and modern onboard processing as part of a pilot programme

A table on the contingency score of Index of Resilience and Vulnerability of  species caught in India was prepared

The DOF-GOK has drafted up a financial assistance scheme to help trawl fishers fix AIS on their vessels

A list of priority species (high volume / high value / high vulnerability / ‘main’ MSC species), has been compiled from existing knowledge, catch data and pre-assessment

Catch and effort data quality was improved with the introduction of online data collection system

ECOPATH model for the Kerala Arabian Sea Ecosystem (KASE) has been developed by CMFRI scientists

The DoK/ GoK has published a government ordinance that prohibits juvenile fishing.

The three-year audit has been conducted; there is sufficient information being collected on ETP species from logbook data and research

The percentage of ETP species and high-risk species in the trawl fishery has been evaluated, with high-risk species being assessed as very low