"A critical look at fisheries management practices: the 45-day ban in Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu, India" - Drs. Eline & Drs. Marjanka - Centre for Maritime Research (MARE),Univerisity of Amsterdam

In an ideal world, fishing would be subject to effective management regimes that would ensure that exploitation of the resource is sustainable in the long term, both from the perspective of the ecosystem, as well as from a socio-economic point of view. In the real world, management of fisheries has been notoriously ineffective, fishery practices have rarely been sustainable, and the present status of fisheries in the world might still best be described as 'too many people chasing too few fish' (Deere 2000; Bavinck 2001; Pauly et al. 2002).

In this thesis we present the results of a study on the incentives for and consequences of an annual 45-day (April 15-May 29) ban on trawling in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This ban has been implemented for the first time in 2001, and is specifically aimed at the conservation and regeneration of fisheries wealth. The question we have ultimately tried to answer is: Does the 45-day ban achieve the results it strives to accomplish (as formulated in the official government order Ms. No. 5)?

During a three-month fieldwork period in Tamil Nadu's southern coastal district Tuticorin, we have approached trawler-fishermen, officials of the Fisheries Department, and fisheries scientists (semi-structured interviews / survey questionnaire). In addition, we have conducted an extensive exploration of the scientific publications on the subject. We have followed an interdisciplinary approach, taking into account both the biological, as well as the socio-economic perspective.

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