Fisheries

Set in India-ka-dil, Madhya Pradesh, is the unending expanse of Panna.

In his late 30s, Nilesh Heda is a renowned expert on issues related to fishing communities and wetland ecology. While doing his PhD on fish diversity, he worked with the fishing communities in Vidarbha in Maharashtra.

Senthil takes a long puff of the cigarette before flicking it on the road nonchalantly. “I started smoking on the sly when I was in school,” he reminisces. “Sixty years later, I still do the same, only more smokes per day.”

What makes a good fisherman? His tools like boats and intricate nets, the ability to make deep dives or the tenacity to stand the elements? For most of the fishers, it’s about having a deep understanding of the ecosystem and the wisdom to make it work for them. The fishing community at Palk Bay is a good example for this.

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Malguzari tanks were ponds made for water harvesting by the Malguzaars, who were zamindars or tenants in eastern Vidarbha, Maharashtra two centuries ago.These tanks provided water for irrigation and also increased the availability of fish for local consumption.

Small islands in southern Kerala lakes sinking

Dhanmaniya Devi had never tasted a ‘good’ fish. “All we had during my childhood were the small varieties which come to rivers during monsoon. They are rarely seen now,” says the 65-year-old villager in Sildag of Palamau district in Jharkhand. This is why when her family reared the commercial variety fish last year, she was delighted.

Environment ministry releases the draft of India’s new National Forest Policy