DOWN TO EARTH H54 31 OCTOBER 2004

PRADIPSAHA Kakdwip They can't. Why? In November 2002, Wildlife Protection The problem is fisherfolk use a part t is October, 2004. In the Supreme Society of director Belinda Wright of Jambudwip to dry the fish they catch Court (sc) in Delhi, there contin- shot off a letter to the Centrally 15 km south, in the sea. What, now, is ues a 2-year-old case that has Empowered Committee (CEC; it advises the point of fishing if the fish can't be become a clash of imperatives: pro- the Supreme Court on all cases related dried there? Itecting the environment — a fragile to forestry). The letter complained of It is a complex case mangrove ecology — versus people's 'encroachment' by fisherfolk in man- In the report CEC submitted post-com- livelihood: a sustainable style of fishing. grove-forested Jambudwip — an island plaint, fish-drying is categorised as a But let us turn away from the hectic 5 km south of the mainland, CEC issued non-forest activity. According to the atmosphere of a court hearing. Let us go a letter to the chief secretary, West Forest Conservation Act, 1980, such to the delta that lies at the fag-end of the Bengal, to take action; subsequently, on activity, if not approved by the Union Gangetic Plain, off . August 25 2003, sc passed an interim ministry of environment and forests, Here the brute solidity of the sub- order that "no trawler or mechanised must be banned. The 10,000-odd fisher- continent's landmass gives way to water, boat shall enter the water adjoining folk are illegal users, for the use of a uneasily. Here, pockets of land mulishly Jambudwip Island until further orders". reserve forest for a non-forest purpose poke out of an immense has not been cleared. expanse of water: the land- This is where compli- mass refuses to give way, cations occur. Jambudwip and the was declared a reserved refuses to let go. In this forest as long ago as 1943. region that is water but Yet, older fisherfolk also land, October signi- remember the island being fies the beginning of a used to dry fish since the four-month fishing sea- 1950s. A seminal 1967 son. And here, this year, field study by anthropolo- more than 10,000 jaila gist Bikash Raychaudhary kaibartyas — a south — published as The Moon Bengal caste of traditional and the Net by the fisherfolk — wait with Anthropological Survey of Unapp ro ach able: hardly concealed despera- India — also testifies to a tion to set out to sea. But Jambudwip island looms in the horizon time-honoured activity. they won't. Indeed, fish-drying on Jambudwip continued even after the 1980 act was promulgated. As Kiranmoy Nanda, West Bengal's fish- eries minister, maintains, "All along, these fishermen were given seasonal permits by the forest department." Nanda adds, "The Wildlife Protection Act and the Coastal Regulation Zone under the Environment Protection Act protect the customary rights of fisher- men". This statement further compli- cates the picture: Jambudwip is an unin- habitated island; arguably, therefore, people have no rights here. Sukhlal Das was once a bahardar (master of the fleet). Now, he's jobless

What happens to Moti Das? but net design and method. A behundi nately swathe through the seabed — gill Moti Das is a dryfish businessman. (local name for a stake net) is designed nets, typically what trawlers use — tran- Half-heartedly repairing his boats, he such that its holes are larger at the sient fishing uses stationary nets. But says he did a bit of business in 2002. In beginning and become tinier towards here, boats are used only to reach the 2003, he could not operate in the end. It takes almost 300 person-days place, fix nets and haul the catch. Jambudwip. So, he shifted fish-drying to prepare a behundi; its architecture The catch has to be hauled, then to Namkhana. "But we got a very low allows fishlings to swim through. Only nets turned to face the turning tide, in price," he says. "Namkhana is not the adults get caught. In approximately 400 about 7 minutes. A tide pulls the net to right place to dry fish, there is too much sq km of tide-determined water flow, the bottom; the fish follow the flow, and sand in the air. More than that, there are 1000 behundis are fixed. so get caught. For a few minutes before constant fights with Namkhana locals. Each net is 60-70 feet wide, fixed the tide turns, the net surfaces. Now the We have no alternative to Jambudwip." with bamboo poles rammed into the catch must be unloaded into the boat; sea-bottom, facing the tide. The nets are then quickly, the mouth is reversed. Why Jambudwip? First: placed where underwater creeks exist, Work stops on Ml moon and moonless Transient fishing (locally called sabar) is where deltaic rivers deposit nutrients, days; on these days the tide is too strong, one of the few traditional methods of thus attracting fish. Such a demand the net doesn't hold. For 120 days in 5 fishing still practiced in the world. turns buhundi placement into an art, months, the flsherfolk work the creeks. Fishing takes place for 150 days between fine-tuned through years of keen obser- An entire team stays at sea. October and February. Its sustainable vation and practice. Unlike unsustain- What they catch is sent, in a round- essence is not the kind of boats they use, able fishing practices that indiscrimi- the-clock operation, to Jambudwip.

E y eOfth eS to r mPoisedbetween landmass andsea, Jambudwip is criticalto transient fishing operations

f; border 110 kilometres

Land area Sand area Underwater creek & BAY OF BE Fishing towns

Transient fishing ground (400 iq km) put to drying before they start rotting A matter of origin and smelling. If we have to transport the Fishing infiltrates the entire delta raw fish over longer distances, refrigera- tion will increase our cost." The dis- Most of the fisherfolk that fish in the sea tance, 15-20 km, is covered using a 30- around Jambudwip came over from 45 horsepower boat in 3-4 hours. Bangladesh between 1950 and 1970. Fisherfolk involved in drying stay in Shishu Ranjan Das came to Kakdwip, Jambudwip in makeshift shelters. Fish West Bengal, when he was 23. He has are strung on bamboo bars, or laid on a been going to the sea since he was 7 bed prepared with a thick layer of straw with his father, when they used to stay in and mosquito nets on top. The straw Chittagong. Interestingly, most of the helps air flow under the fish. transient fisherfolk in Bangladesh hail The fisherfolk use the dry winter from Chittagong and come all the way north breeze — and plenty of sunshine east, in coastal Khulna, to operate: the — to quick-dry fish naturally. This is right kind of island to dry their catch probably why the season ends by exists in Rangabali, in Bangladesh-con- February: after that, the southern wind trolled Sunderbans. is moist. "It is not a wonder why Jambudwip dryfish attracts the best price in the market", explains Nanda. Why Jambudwip? Jambudwip is also the only island In Jambudwip, in a parallel operation, that, natural creek apart, has a forest fish unloaded from boats are dried and where fisherfolk can shelter during sent to the mainland. Since the interim cyclones or rough weather. order, there has much talk of an alterna- tive site. But fisherfolk assert this Rolling credit island's unique: it is the only one Over time, transient fishing has become between the fishing area and the main- capital intensive. In all, at least 10,000 Scenes from a capital intensive past: land that has a natural creek navigable people get directly employed — in fish- On top: A behundi (stake net). during high tides, which fisherfolk use Fisherfolk turn net around (middle); ing, drying and net-making — and fish-laden boats moored in to unload their catch. Also, only another 7,000 in the backward supply Jambudwip creek (above) Jambudwip has a flat land without sand, chain of implements and the forward ideal for drying fish. Kiran Das, a fisher- chain of transport and fishmeal pro- for a season looks very large. But we live man, pointed out the need for a place cessing in piggeries and poultries. on rolling credit. I can start my opera- such as Jambudwip: "The fish has to be Interestingly, local 'traders' who control tion with Rs 7-8 lakh. The point still the operation are part of the fishing remains that I'm responsible for all the community. They are called 'bahardars' people I employ, irrespective of what I Tarini Bhattacharya believes (roughly, 'master of the fleet'). All tree-felling continues at Jambudwip make." In fact, a bahardar usually bor- bahardars were once fishermen; all rows money. "And like most other busi- fishermen aspire to be a bahardar. ness in India, the wholesale buyer in Fishermen work for a bahardar for a Kolkata or Sheoraphuli is the money- salary of Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 for the lender," explains Harekrishna Debnath, season (the range is related to skill), 60 chairperson, National Fishworkers' per cent of this salary is paid before the Forum. "He enjoys the guarantee of get- fisherfolk set out to sea. A typical ting the product from the borrower at a bahradar owns at least 25 nets, each lower rate than the market value". costing Rs 20,000. He employs at least It isn't surprising moneylenders run 150 people — 100 for fishing and anoth- the show: institutional loans for fishing er 50 for drying — and has to provide all over India are weak; insuring a boat food, shelter or medicines. commands a very high premium. Most A 25-net operation requires at least bahardars are absolutely clear it is better 5 small boats (called 'phatphati', a boat to borrow from a moneylender — with powered by a 3- 5 hp diesel motor) and whom they have business relations — 2 large boats (powered by 30-45 hp than to have a fixed deposit, or mort- engines; the engines are only for propul- gage property with a bank for a loan. sion, its power depends on how far into But in the last two years, this rolling the sea it travels). Bahardars either own credit economy has badly floundered. these boats, or hire them in a season. Wholesale buyers, who would flock to Says bahardar Sukhlal Das, "The the area September-onwards, have total Rs 40 lakh that has to be invested stopped coming. Supply is now begin- ning to trickle in from Andhra Pradesh Back to Jambudwip? and Orissa. And consumers from as far The question is: what will happen to the Out of the net as the northeast, where dry fish is a deli- mangrove forests on the 1950-hectare Towards a win-win situation cacy and a staple source of protein, have Jambudwip island if the fisherfolk go begun complaining of poor quality. What is the way out of the Jambudwip back there? CEC'S worry is the fragile impasse, keeping both ecological protec- mangrove ecology will get decimated. In Alternative? tion and people's livelihood in mind? court, it has shown satellite maps indi- Clearly, the issue is to find ways to The West Bengal forest ministry has cating a large part of the mangrove has touted the idea of using Haribhanga, a demarcate a portion for fish drying, such been destroyed 1980s onwards. But the that the mangrove forest is not affected. sand bar in the mouth of river Hooghly fact still remains that these fishermen If 100 hectares of forest in the island is — also known as Lower Long Sand have been using the island since the diverted for drying fish, as proposed by as the alternative site for fish drying. 1950s. Satellite imagery shows approxi- the state government, MoEF should But, as the chief secretary pointed out in mately 200 hectares have been an affidavit to the sc, Haribhanga has destroyed. Point is: did the fisherfolk do • create an example by asking for 200 certain basic problems. It has no creek that? Says Nanda, "No fishermen in the hectares of afforestation in Bhangonkhali or shallow; so boats cannot dock and sea, with any sense, will destroy tree • plant only mangrove, for which help can unload catch. Moreover, it is a bald cover — their only shelter. In fact, the be sought from researchers at the patch of sand flats and dunes. It is diffi- mangrove will stay if they are there, for National Institute of Oceanography cult to access Haribhanga: this corre- fishermen know that the mangrove is • undertake satellite imaging right away spondent had to change to a smaller where fish breed." to ascertain the current situation, and boat mid-sea and wade through chest- make it public deep water. Lack of vegetation makes it Should it not be taken into account • undertake strict monitoring useless to shelter in Haribhanga during that, after 50 years of operation, a mere • restrict the number of fishworkers. Let a cyclone. Gunodhar Das, a bahardar 200 hectares out of the total 1950 the forest department issue permits for who has become a pauper today, used to hectares have been felled? What about transient use be a labourer in the 1970s; a cyclone the felling that occurred in the last two • fees from this should be used only to devastated Haribhanga, and Das sur- years, since the fishing stopped? Says plant mangrove in the island vived after floating for 3 days up to the Tarini Bhattacharya, wife of the priest of • put a cap on the size of the boat that Andhra coast. Now, with no work, he the temple in Jambudwip, "Trees are can enter the creek in the island has turned labourer again. being felled, but I cannot risk my life by telling you who has done it. I stay here Nevertheless, some operators are alone with my husband." Reports last mangroves, have strangely enough been using Haribhanga, a clear sign of des- month in a Bengali daily talk of illegal planting casaurina on the island. peration. The situation is fraught: every felling in the island. Further, the forest "I am sure fishermen will not new place fishermen try out puts them department, which wishes to protect the at loggerheads with locals, for most indulge in destroying the mangrove, but places they go to are populated, and if the place is open to them, it may locals resent their intrusion: fish-drying attract other people who may requires huge, open land. But such destroy," says Ashok Gupta, chief spaces are simply not available. secretary, West Bengal. This is a real fear: although the images CEC showed in court do not indicate Fish strung out to dry at Jambudwip clear-felling, their worry on this island; today, the drying grounds count isn't misplaced, and calls for resemble a wasteland strict monitoring. In their affidavit, West Bengal has proposed ivert- ing 100 hectares of forest land in Jambudwip for fish-drying, an area that will be fenced and monitored. To compensate, the government will go for plantation over 100 hectares in Bhangonkhali in the Sunderban area. This proposal of the West Bengal government is now with the Union ministry of environment and forests, awaiting clearance. And the fisherfolk will now have to wait until the first week of November, 2004, when the ministry will inform sc about its decision. Will this case show that environmental pro- tection, and the imperative of people's livelihoods, go hand in hand?

TR1 Fisherfolk in Jambudwip Forest, environment laws a nd fishermen castes and wildlife

VD 25/06/05