State govt brings in minimum legal size for 54 fish varieties

The state government of Maharashtra has set a minimum legal size for 54 commercially important fish species to ensure sustainable fishing practices. Fishermen caught selling or catching fish below the minimum size face a penalty of ₹1 lakh. Awareness campaigns will be conducted before penalties are applied.

The state government has fixed a minimum legal size (MLS) for 54 commercially important species of fish below which fisherfolk can neither catch or sell them from now on.

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They include squid, octopus, prawns, crabs, lobster, shark, pomfret, sardine, tuna, Bombay duck, and catfish, a government notification said. For example, MLS of Bombay duck is 180 mm (total length) while that of Yellowfin tuna is 500 mm (fork length). MLS of grey sharpnose shark has been set at 530 mm (total length).

The MLS regulations will make fishing sustainable, said Mahesh Deore, joint commissioner, Maharashtra fisheries.

“We formed a committee to study the fish and give our recommendations. The modernisation of fishing methods has led to overfishing, which we have regulated by other means too. In 2018, the minimum size of the trawl net’s square mesh cod end was set at 40mm,” he said.

Maharashtra became the third state after Kerala and Karnataka to implement these measures.

Ajay Nakhawa, scientist from Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Mumbai, said, “Fishes above MLS have had enough time to breed at least once, which ensures their population doesn’t drop to dangerous levels.”

CMFRI had in 2018 released an advisory putting a stop to catching juvenile fishes – below MLS – from 58 commercially important species. In 2019, the fisheries department had asked the state government to notify MLS, with guidelines expected by early 2020.

Catching and selling these juveniles carries a penalty of ₹1 lakh, according to the Maharashtra Marine Fishing Regulation Act, 1981.

But this penalty will not immediately be applied, Deore said. “First, we will conduct awareness campaigns and workshops, distribute leaflets and have meetings with all the cooperative societies. There are 17,750 fishing vessels in our waters where leaflets will be pasted.”

Deore claimed that most fishermen - between 50% and 70% - are in support of these regulations, as they recognise the value of letting the fish breed. “But there is a certain group of people who are more concerned about making a profit. They own fishing vessels and get workers from other states such as UP, Bihar and Odisha.”

“MLS won’t work in Mumbai, as we get only small fishes here and people love to eat them. It’s how the fishermen make their living,” said Cashu Aitolea, chairman of Gorai Machhimar Sahakari Sanstha.