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J. Env. Bio-Sci., 2019: Vol. 33 (2): 251-255 ISSN 0973-6913 (Print), ISSN 0976-3384 (On Line)

EFFECT OF DECLINING FISH DIVERSITY ON THE FISHERMEN COMMUNITY OF

ALIMGHAR, THANE DISTRICT, (M.S.), INDIA
Poonam Kurve* and Vicky Patil
Department of Environmental Science,
VPM's B.N. Bandodkar College of Science, Thane., India
Email*:pnkurve@gmail.com

Received: 21-11-2019 Accepted: 23-12-2019

Fish species harvested from various aquatic ecosystems are the main source of livelihood for Fishermen communities. The
present study deals with the impact of declining fish diversity on the local fishermen community of Alimghar village, located on the
banks of Ulhas River Estuary. The study was carried from November 2014 to January 2017. Although aim of the study was to
recorddiversity, impact of declining fish diversity emerged out as the point of attention. Data collection was done by circulating
questionnaire in the community, which was divided in four age groups i.e. 10-25, 25-50, 50-75, 75+. Increased anthropogenic
activities and mangrove destruction along with climatic change have led to notable decline in fish population. Due to this decline,
fishermen communities have been forced to shift their focus from fishery to non-fishery occupation. The study revealed that about
63% of the population has opted to non-fishery occupation and nearly 82% population claimed that the reason for this shift is due
to decline and uncertainty in fish catch and the stable income in non- fishing activities. The declining fish population has also
affected the traditional crafts and gears used by the fishing community. A drastic cultural trend is seen to cope with the unfavorable
effects of urbanization.
Key words: Fishermen, decline, Ulhas River Estuary, Anthropogenic activity
Amongst Asian countries, India is the only nation to have sand dredging and mangrove deforestation coupled with
extensive area under mangrove cover, salt marshes and uncertain climatic condition have proved to be responsible for
brackish water supporting variety of biotic and abiotic properties the rapid decline in fish population (Quadros and Athalye, 2012).
and processes (Lad and Patil, 2014). With an estimated gross There is remarkable reclamation of land in the adjacent areas
primary productivity of about 10 K.cal/m2/yr. of organic matter, for construction purpose, which initiated requirement of sand.
estuaries are considered as one of the most productive and This resulted into disproportionate sand dredging in the creek
heavily utilized zones on our planet (Rathod, 2005). Livelihood area. Consequently, there was decline in fish fauna and hence,
of the coastal people is largely supported by backwaters in the fishermen community was forced to shift their focus from
addition to main marine resources. Fishery plays an important fishery to non-fishery occupations. There are still some fishing
role in maintaining economy of the fishermen communities communities along the Ulhas River Estuary who depend upon
along creeks and estuaries. Fishery is also an important sector fishery for their livelihood (Kurve and Patil, 2016) and are striving
in most of the developed and developing countries of the world hard to obtain catch at commercial level. Alimghar is one of
from the standpoint of income and employment generation. the villages located on the banks of Ulhas River Estuary where
majority of fishermen practice estuarine fishery to earn their
The estuarine fragment of Ulhas River begins at Dombivli,
wages and the current study aims at evaluating impact of
continues for about 40 km and finally merges into the Arabian
declining fish diversity on the fishermen population.
sea at Bassein (Vasai) creek situated between 18° 45' to 19°
19' N latitude and 73° 21' to 72° 45' E longitude in Thane District, Study area:Alimghar, a small Village located on the banks of
Maharashtra State, India (Rathod, 2016). Since decades,Ulhas the Ulhas River Estuary in Thane District where fishery related
River Estuary has remained a key factor in providing livelihood activities were predominant before last decade. This part of
for local fishermen communities locatedat the banks. Previous the estuary has been used for constructive options like fishing
studies indicate that, Ulhas River Estuary supported a large to destructive options like sand dredging, discharge of effluents
diversity of fish species along its course. Yetin the last decade, etc. posing a serious threat to the aquatic diversity in the
increased anthropogenic activities like reclamation of area.
land,effluent discharge from chemical industries, uncontrolled

NAAS Rating (2019)-4.43

 KURVE AND PATIL (252)

Coordinates:19° 12' 14.14'' N and 73° 02' 12.23''E.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out in three phases:data collection, data

interpretation and data analysis. Primary data was collected
by carrying out field surveys by preparing a questionnaire to
initiate interaction with the people to note down their age, literacy
rate, fishery practices etc. Data was collected for a period of
three years i.e. from January 2014 to January 2017 and 150
individuals from the fishermen community were interviewed.
Fishermen were selected through simple random sampling from
the fishermen community. Based on the interactions and the Figure 1: Education level within the Community
questionnaire the data collected was scrutinized to eliminate
possible errors and inconsistencies contained. After completing
the pre-tabulation, data was entered, processed and analyzed
using simple statistical tools in Microsoft excel.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Education is known as fundamental human right globally. It

plays a crucial role in every community by influencing social
development and economic growth thus, altogether influencing
the economic sustainability and social well-being of all the
members of the Community (World education report, 2000). A
positive trend in terms of education can be observed within the
community as majority of the population in the age group 10-
25 and 26-50 are educated and are pursuing higher education
as compared to the other two age groups. The desire and the
urge to achieve their goals are mainly empowered by increased
realization and knowledge about one's place in their community
and the world as whole. (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2014).
It was expected that most of the working population in the
fishermen community would have opted for traditional activities
related to fishery sector as their means of wages. From the
Figure 2: Comparison among the age groups based on
occupations
table, it is evident that a large portion of population i.e. 84 %
is involved in non- fishery occupations, followed by part-time
fishery i.e. 11% and a small percentage of population indulged
in fishery as their only occupation.
Community where activities related to fishery were the major
source of income is now shifting to non-fishery occupations
from various other sectors. This change in number can be
(253) EFFECT OF DECLINING FISH DIVERSITY ON THE FISHERMEN COMMUNITY
Figure 3: Comparison among the age groups based on
Current and previous fishing activities:
Figure 4: Comparison among the age groups based on
occupations
Figure 5: Peoples view on declining fishery
co-related with the increasing population, higher education
pollution loads and uncertainty in income generation from
fishery sector as compared to the regular outcomes in non-
fishery sectors (Thomas Jessy,2002).
The availability of fish catch is directly influencing the standard
of traditional communities of fishermen all over the world. It is
evident that the fishermen are shifting their focus from fishery
Figure 6: peoples view on reason for decline in fish
species
Figure 7: comparison among crafts used: present vs.
previous
sector to non-fishery sectordue to declining fish catch. 39 %
of the population has already moved away from fishery sector.
The other reasons for this change were higher education,
increased competition in fishery sector, uncertainty in fish
catch and regular and better income in occupations other than
fishery.
Fishery resources of the world have been overexploited, which
has led to fall in productivity and catch (Pauly, 2002). 92% of
the surveyed population had the views that fish density is
reducing over the years and only a small fraction of population
i.e. 8% were of the view that there is no such decline in fish
population. Nearly 27% of the surveyed population had the
view that the major factor responsible for this fish decline is
the untreated effluents form the industries followed by 20%
population saying waste that was been dumped into the water
is causing a detrimental impact on water quality, which in turn
 KURVE AND PATIL (254)

has led to reduction in fish catch.

Over the years, sand mining, mangrove deforestation, increase

movement of ships, oil spills have had a significant yet harmful
effect on the fish diversity and density (Quadros and Athalye,
2012). A small portion of population mentioned during interviews
that, unmanaged and increased fishing also had affected the
fish density.

Crafts and gears play an important role in fishing activities.

They have been aiding fishermen in their fishing activities.
Along with the changing society and advancement in the
technology, there is a continuous change and advancement
in the craft-gear combinations too (SathiadhasR., 2006).
Figure 8: comparison among gears used: present vs.
Traditional crafts, which were bulky and manually operated,
previous
are being replaced by new small, mechanized and durable
ones. This transformation might be due to reduction in fish
catch or due to higher durability of modern crafts and gears
against traditional ones.

As the density of the fishcatch decreased over the years,

fishermen were forced to move to distant places in search of
better fish catch for their own sustenance. Earlier most of the
fishery practices were concentrated towards Alimghar, Mumbra
and Diva area. Today, because of the uncertainty in fish catch,
fishermen are forced to travel to places up to Airoli and Vashi
located more than 20 kilometers far from the village. In order
to book profit, fishes need to be sold out and no other place
than fish market is the best option for it. Hence, since old
Figure 9: Comparison among fishing areas
ages the fish catch is sold in different fish markets right from
local village market to fish markets in cities like Thane, Kalyan,
and Bhayender etc.

However, in the recent times with the decline in the fish diversity
and catch, the fisherwomen / fish vendors are avoiding big
marketplaces. At present, captured fish are being sold in the
Village. Whenever the catch is good, it is taken to markets of
Thane and Bhiwandi for selling.

CONCLUSION

The mangrove cover of Ulhas river estuary and the nutrients in

it supports remarkable aquatic fauna. Loss of wetland due to
habitat destruction has a disastrous effect on the biodiversity
of the area (Kurve and Patil, 2016). With the advancement in
Figure 10: Comparison among Market places
the society, it can be observed that there is modernization in
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the technology used for fishing. The traditional crafts and gears 6. KurvePoonam and Patil Vicky (2016).Fishery status of Alimghar
are being replaced with the more durable and efficient modern Channel of Ulhas River, Thane (M.S.) India. Proc. Of International
ones. While some fishing tools must be changed dues to the Conference on Ecosystem Services of Wetland Ardrabhumi pp:132-

reduction in the fish catch. The gloomy situation about fish
catch is giving the local fishermen a hardship as the occupation
fishery that once provided wages to community, now has lost
its potential to help in their sustenance. Due to this uncertainty
in fish catch many fishermen are moving to professions other
than fishery as in the past few years fishery has proved to be
unprofitable. For restoration of water quality and to avoid a
downfall in fishery business appropriate action needs to be
taken in next decade or so.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are thankful to Principal, VPM's B.N. Bandodkar College
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Biodiversity Asia 2012- Science, Policy and Governance.
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