Bycatch in Indian trawl fisheries and some suggestions for trawl bycatch mitigation

Globally, trawl is the major fishing gear used in marine fisheries and in India, it contributes to more than one-third of the marine fish production. Trawl fishing has been critically evaluated from a sustainability perspective, especially analysing its bycatch composition. Most of the bycatch from trawlers contains valuable edible species with high market demand. However, a portion of the bycatch which does not have such demand in the edible fish market, known as low-value bycatch (LVB), continues to be a matter of concern from an ecological and economic perspective. During 2017-19, 30-60% of trawl landing in India was constituted by LVB, which was mainly used for fishmeal preparation. To enhance the value and utility of LVB, this study explores the possibility of converting waste from LVB into edible resources using pufferfish and triggerfish. It also highlights the positive impact of efforts by different Government agencies for bycatch mitigation like the implementation of minimum legal size in reducing the juvenile component in bycatch, with a social survey-based account of fisher's perceptions and suggestions on successful bycatch mitigation.