Traditional practices related to fishing observed by the fishermen of Minicoy, Lakshadweep with a mew

to conserve the resource and avoid conflicts among them are detailed here

Sivadas, M

Wesley, S Godwin

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Ecol. Env. & Cons. 12 (4) : 2006; pp .  (705-706) Copyright O Enviromedia Community based local management of fisheries - A paradigm from Minicoy, Lakshadweep, lndia M.Sivadas* and S.Godwin Wesley** *Calicut Research Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, West Hill, Calicut, Kerala, lndia '*Department of Zoology, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, Tamilnadu, lndia ABSTRACT Traditional practices related to fishing observed by the fishermen of Minicoy, Lakshadweep with a mew to conserve the resource and avoid conflicts among them are detailed here. Key word's : Minicoy, Pole and line, Traditional practices. Introduction Fishing is as old as mankind and many coastal com- munities worldwide have systems of taboos, access rights and traditional practices which effectively pro- tect the status quo. They also play an important role in reducing conflicts, engendering a sense of stew- ardship in the users of the resource and in maintain- ing some co~~trol on effort or destructive fishing prac- tices (Caddy and Cochrane, 2001). There is also a ' growing awareness that managing fisheries is more to do with managing the people involved in fisheries than it is with managing the resource. In Minicoy I Island, Lakshadweep, also, there is a definite system I ! of traditional practices, which has an effective con- trol on the fishing activities there. Minicoy has been the only place in India where an organized pole and line fishery for tuna especially skipjack using live bait is in vogue since time immemorial though this method has been later transferred to other islands of Lakshadweep. The social set up and way of life in Minicoy are entirely different from those in other groups of island. Here the people are more related to the people of Maldives and as in Maldives, the lan- guage of Minicoy is also Mahl. The residential area is in one part of the island and is divided into differ- l ent villages (10 nos). Each village has a village house with a village head .The head is locally known as 'moopan'. A11 important meetings or important func- tions of the respective villages are held in the village house. The villagers are bound to follow the deci- sion taken by the village heads or 'moopans'. In gov- ernment meetings or any other official functions, the 'moopans' are invited as representatives of the re- spective villages. Thus there is a well-knit social set up here. This social set up and the consequent disci- pline pervades all activities including fishing. Traditional practices related to fishing The following are some of the traditional practices related to fishing, adhered to by the people. Selection of a local pilot -The villagers usually se- lect one person as local pilot known as 'Arukath' who will normally be an expert fisherman thorough with fishing, local conditions, navigational routes etc. His main duty is to settle any dispute that may arise during fishing either in the lagoon or in the open sea. There will be an assistant pilot who will discharge his duty as pilot in the absence of the pilot. Because of this system, fishing is conducted in a dis- ciplined and organized way. As mentioned earlier, the pilot besides settling any dispute oversees the 

Community based local management of fisheries - a paradigm from Minicoy, Lakshadweep, lndia

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Community based local management of fisheries - a paradigm from Minicoy, Lakshadweep, lndia

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