Ashtamudi, a commercial fishery on the west coast of India in the state of Kerala, is India’s first fishery to be awarded U.K.’s Marine Stewardship Council standard. The fishery achieved this certification because of its efforts in sustainable fishing practices in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund India and regional and local partners.
Growth of the Ashtamudi’s fishery was driven by demand from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia in the 1980s and 1990s. By 1991, the catch peaked at 10,000 tons a year, but declined 50 percent in 1993 due to overfishing. In order to allow stocks to recover, a closed season and mesh size restrictions for nets were introduced, along with a minimum export size and a prohibition on mechanical clam fishing. These measures showed immediate effects, and the clam fishery has sustained landings of around 10,000 tons a year for the past decade.
Up to 1,000 fishermen in the area rely on the clams for their livelihoods. On a good day, a fisherman can gather as much as 440 pounds of clams. An additional 4,000 people are involved in cleaning, processing and trading the clams. Worldwide, seafood is one of the most traded food commodities and has a greater economic importance in the developing world than other agricultural commodities. In 2012, net export revenues reached $35.3 billion, higher than revenues for exports of coffee, tea, bananas, cocoa, rice and rubber. (State of the World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2014 –FAO).
Fishers for short-necked clams from Ashtamudi will now be able to use MSC’s distinctive blue eco-label. This is a milestone that only two other Asian fisheries have achieved so far and could open up new international markets. Around 80 per cent of Ashtamudi’s clams are exported to Asia, but the fishery is now hoping to unlock new markets in the U.S. and Europe.
