Positive Change for Marine Life
Observations from the Field
​Introduction
I spent the last three days with Positive Change for Marine Life (PCFML) in Kovalam, India and surrounding villages. PCFML is an international marine conservation NGO based out of Australia with additional hubs in Kerala, India and the Solomon Islands.
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I reached out to PCFML about a month ago, to inquire about their work and see if I could shadow them. A few weeks later, an email thread turned into a zoom call, which turned into a few more emails, and finally, a WhatsApp thread. As luck would have it, the CEO of the company, Karl Goodsell was in India visiting the marine conservation centre in Kovalam. He invited me to join the team for a workshop to set up a fisheries monitoring program in a local village.
I arrived in Kovalam early in the morning where I met Sudha and Shruthi––twins who are doing research on sharks and rays. They use landing surveys to learn about marine life in areas where people fish.
The goal of the fisheries monitoring program is to understand the local ecosystem by asking small-scale fisherIndian Rupeesmen to document the fish that they catch and that they see while they are out on their boats each day. Monitoring will not only give greater insights into the ecology of the region, but in the long-term, it could also reveal how the area is changing.
Problems Faced by Fisherfolk
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Profitability of Fish Catch
While we were setting up the program, we interviewed fishermen and women about the state of the coastline. When we spoke to them, we learned that many families who rely on fishing for their livelihood are struggling. The fisherfolk told us that about 20 years back, they travelled just one kilometre offshore to fish, but now they travel at least 10 and still have trouble maintaining a profitable catch.
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Trawling
The people we spoke to were local, small-scale, generational fisherfolk who rely on nets and line fishing. They now compete with commercial fishers who trawl in the waters offshore. Trawling is effective for catching lots of fish, but it destroys marine ecosystems by dragging nets along the ocean floor. In many countries, trawling is illegal, but off the coast of Kerala, there are no such regulations. Trawling and overfishing in the region have rendered the ecosystem inhabitable for many species.
Unlike in other regions, local, small-scale fisherfolk and commercial fishers share the same waters and compete for resources. There aren’t regulations on Kovalam’s coast to ban commercial fishers that drive out small fisherfolk. In Chennai, for example, commercial fishers don’t share waters with small-scale fisherfolk, which gives the smaller fisherfolk more catch opportunities.​​​
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Plastic Pollution in Waters
The other problem that many fisherfolk brought up was the amount of garbage in the water. There is a saturated conversation throughout the world about ocean plastics, but for those who are in places where there haven’t historically been centralized waste management systems, preventing plastic waste from entering the ocean is very challenging. When we left the harbour, it was clear that no matter how people were fishing, they were bound to catch at least a little bit of plastic on their hooks, and certainly in their nets.
When we talked to people about the garbage, they explained that they would obviously like it to be removed, but they don’t know how to do that on a large scale––especially with their time constraints to catch enough fish to hopefully make a profit for their families. Until there is a monetary incentive for these fisherfolk to collect plastics and ghost nets from the fishing grounds, it is unlikely that the amount of trash in the water will change.
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Sea Wall Installation
The trawling is coupled with the installation of sea walls in the area. Dredging to build sea walls, similar to trawling, disrupts the ecosystem and kills or drives marine life out of the area.
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​LED Light Usage
In recent years, commercial fishers have begun using LED lights at night to attract more fish, which drives up the competition. Many of the local fishermen we spoke to explained that many must begin using lights, otherwise, their chances of making adequate catches will be largely stifled.​
Knowledge Gaps
Coupled with Income Scarcity
At one point during our interviews, there was a man who proudly approached our group to show us all of the molluscs that he collected. Despite their beauty, they are illegal to fish because they are highly important for marine ecosystems. His pride made it clear that he was not aware of the laws that forbid catch of these creatures.
This was one fisherman we talked to so it does not reflect the attitudes or behaviour of all of the fisherfolk in the region, but it is clear that the lack of knowledge by at least some of the population is negatively impacting the environment.
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While we walked through Kovalam, we noticed that certain shops were selling corals. The cheapest corals were 200 Indian Rupees (~$2.50) but ranged in price up to 2000 Indian Rupees (~$27). When we talked to the shopkeepers, they explained that they buy the corals from fishermen for 100 Rupees and then sell them for double the price they bought them for. When we asked why they buy corals despite their illegality, they explained that it’s because tourists always ask for them. The shopkeepers know that the sale of corals is illegal, but continue because there is demand and no one enforcing the laws that are in place.
Many of the fishermen said that fishing is no longer profitable for them. Lots shared that they were losing money, but they didn’t know what else to do for work––fishing is what they, and their families, for generations, have always done. When we talked to kids in school, they shared that they don't want to fish as a career. They watch their parents struggle and want to free themselves from that cycle.
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The fisheries monitoring program will give further insight into how activities above the water are impacting the ecosystems below. Still, the program and the conversations with local fishers should evoke further discourse into the environmental repercussions that accompany poverty cycles.
It’s easy to villainize the fishermen who sell coral, and others who aren’t actively protecting the ecosystems they work in, but the reality is that they have to make money to eat and support their families. I think the questions that I’ve been asking are:​
The future of these small-scale fisheries Is there one?
If fishing isn’t profitable, what other careers can people growing up in small villages do?
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If one person or group stops participating in harmful fishing practices, will there always be someone else taking their place in the market?
Can we blame them? What would we do if we were in their situation?
Placing blame on small, local businesses and fisherfolk is not the answer to the environmental crisis that the world is facing. There is an opportunity to educate them about the consequences of environmentally destructive actions and potentially create new avenues for income that don’t involve fishing at all.
By creating new revenue streams, pressure could be taken off of the coastline so that the ecosystems have a chance to recover, and local communities could find resilience.