Bycatch is one of the greatest and best-documented threats to cetaceans globally (Reeves et al., 2005). In the Indian Ocean, cetacean bycatch is known to be high, yet there are huge gaps in our existing knowledge on the extent to which bycatch poses a threat to cetaceans in this region (Kiszka et al., 2009; Anderson et al., 2020). Particularly along the coast of India, very little is known about cetacean bycatch, with little or no monitoring in place (Leaper & Calderan, 2018). A recent study estimates that the number of cetaceans caught due to bycatch in pelagic gill- net fisheries along the Indian coast is approximately 10,704 individuals annually (Anderson et al., 2020), and a prior study estimates that approximately 9000- 10,000 cetaceans are caught due to bycatch in gillnet fisheries annually (Yousuf et al., 2009). Nevertheless, information on the spatio-temporal extent of cetacean bycatch in fisheries, and a comprehenive understanding of the gear and species involved are lacking.
This project was designed to collect cetacean occurrence and bycatch data from a network of voluntary, active fishers along the west coast of India, to bridge the above information gaps. This is an important step towards mapping the spatio- temporal patterns of cetacean presence and bycatch, with gear specificity, so that better management decisions to conserve cetaceans can be made in the future.
To begin with, the project focused on collecting baseline information on fisher- cetacean interactions through interview surveys along the west coast of India. Following this, community outreach sessions were conducted among fishers to create awareness on cetacean diversity by distributing cetacean identification charts. Further, community-driven data collection was enhanced through the creations of a smartphone application called “Cetacean Tracker”, so that fishers could easily report on cetacean occurrence and bycatch. Reported data will be used to create a GIS model, to predict bycatch risk from specific pelagic fishries along the west coast. This project covered sample sites in three west coast states in India–Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka, with offshore purse seiners and bottom/mid- water trawlers as fishery types. The 2019-20 period of this project was funded by the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium's Global Fund for Marine Mammal Bycatch Solutions.
Featured Bycatch Species
The white-chinned petrel is the most common avian bycatch species in the Southern Ocean (Weimerskirch et al 1999; Gilman 2006; Robertson et al 2006; Birdlife International 2013).