Environmental Scenario in India

3  Impact of the monsoon trawling ban on marine fisheries in Tamil Nadu

Ierene Francis *

Introduction

Marine fisheries, once considered inexhaustible, are presently under severe stress. Marine fishing has transformed from a means of livelihood to an industry, and there is now a scientific consensus that the fisheries sector has been plagued by problems of overexploitation and pollution. Overfishing in the global fisheries was confirmed by the fact that there has been an annual decline in world fish catch of 0.36 million tonne per year since 1988 (Watson and Pauly 2001). The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates reveal that 70 per cent of the world's fish stocks are affected by overfishing. Increasing adoption ...