Socscience Social, Economic and Policy Aspects of Fisheries
Beel Fisheries of Assam: Community-based Co-management Imperative U.K. Baruah, A.K. Bhagowati, R.K. Talukdar and P.K. Saharia
Abstract The freshwater wetlands (beels) of Assam, India, cover an area of 101 232 ha. For the rural poor, the neighboring wetlands are the only source of fish. They depend on them for their daily consumption of fish as well as a source of livelihood. Ecoenergy studies indicate that these wetlands have a fairly high production potential. However, the current regulations and system of management are not conducive to sustainable production from these water bodies. It is resulting in overexploitation and degradation. It is imperative some form of co-management with local communities be established for the beels of Assam.
are mainly smallholders. The aver- and yields about 3.3 million t of rice. Introduction age operational landholding is 1.37 This is sufficient to meet the inter- The State of Assam in India has ha in the plains. The highest opera- nal demand. The demand for fish is a population of 22.29 million with tional landholding size is about 2 ha about 0.22 million t/year and pro- a density of 284 persons·km-2. The in the hills. duction is only 0.14 million t annu- literacy rate in the state is 53.42%. Rice and fish are the staple food ally from both culture and capture About 75% of the population de- in the state. Traditionally rice farm- fisheries (Bhagowati et al. 1997). pends on agriculture and allied ac- ing has been practiced in about 2.6 Besides the Brahmaputra and the tivities for livelihood. These people million ha of available floodplains Barak River systems (Fig. 1), beels are the major source of capture fish- Arunachal Pradesh eries in Assam. N Bhutan Arunachal Pradesh West The Beels Bengal Assam is gifted with many ex- tensive water bodies commonly known as beels (Jhingran and Pathak Nagaland 1987) that are the only source of fish for the poor people in the surround- Myanmar ing villages. The typical location of Meghalaya beels is shown in Fig. 2. Historically there have been three distinct groups Assam Manipur Bangladesh of people involved in organized fish- India ing in the beels: (i) those who catch fish for their own daily consump- tion; (ii) those belonging to the fisher Tripura Mizoram community and depend on fishing Fig. 1. Map of Assam showing its major river systems. for their livelihood; and (iii) rural
36 Naga, The ICLARM Quarterly (Vol. 23, No. 2) April-June 2000 Naga, TheICLARM Quarterly(Vol. 23,No.2)April-June2000 (Bates andJackson 1980).Amarsh without theaccumulation ofpeat shrubs andtrees,butessentially nently coveredwithwater, with is anareaintermittentlyor perma- to formsinglebigwetland.A swamp ber ofwaterloggedareasjointogether season. Duringthemonsoon,anum- and thewatervariesfromseasonto They normallyhavefeederchannels shape andoccurinlow-lyingareas. bodies areperennial,irregularin egory (Anon.1997).Thesewater plants dieareinthewaterloggedcat- hydrophytes aredrownedandthe that therootsofallplantsexcept near, atorabovethelandsurfaceso formed. Areaswherewaterstands doned oxbowsafteranetcut-offis bodies locatedalongstreamsinaban- meanders arecrescent-shapedwater rain, whileoxbowlakes/cut-off ographic settingwithundulatingter- and pondshaveauniquephysi- inflow andoutflowofwater. Lakes have feederchannelscontrollingthe last twoarehuman-made. are naturalwaterbodieswhilethe reservoir; and(vi)tank.Thefirstfour logged areas;(iv)swamp/marsh;(v) lake/cut-off meander;(iii)water- categories: (i)lake/pond;(ii)oxbow Assam thatdividedthemintosix tion systemforthewetlandsin Organization developedaclassifica- Centre oftheIndianSpaceResearch Council, andtheSpaceApplication Science andTechnology Education Sensing ApplicationCentre,Assam Assam. In1992,theAssamRemote natural wetlandsarecalled wetlands exists(Barbier1989).All satisfactory generaldefinitionof 1992). of interesttothem(Ahmedetal. and providecapitalatusuriousrates ther auctiontheleasestofishers under thelessees.Thelesseesfur- erators workingindependentlyor food, whilefishersarefull-timeop- nary peopleusuallyfishdailyfor entrepreneurs (leaseholders).Ordi- Natural wetlandssometimes Beels Classification arefreshwaterwetlands.No beels in with alargemineralbasin. (1:50,000). imagery is definedaswaterloggedground satellite from prepared map wetland Typical 2. Fig. ders covering15461ha.Thewater- are 861oxbowlakes/cut-offmean- 15 494haandnumber690.There The lakes/pondsoccupyanareaof 1.3% ofthetotalareaState. to 4%ofthetotalfloodplainareaand ered by3513wetlands.Thisisclose 26°15' A totalareaof101232haiscov- 10' 00' Table 1. Type and area of wetlands of Assam. of wetlands of area and Type 1. Table 5' Human-made Natural 92°30' ak 1 5 1 3 750 2 663 43 15 23 115 10 43 434 15 15 494 23432 712 15 461 690 Tanks 1 125 Reservoirs 861 Swamp/marsh Waterlogged area Oxbow lake/cut-offmeander Lake/pond Resources Type District boundary Road River/rivulet Railway Beel uttl153434 3413 125 Total Subtotal uttl3389 2 96 821 97 3388 Subtotal 35' Number 1 0 3 100 234 101 3 513 Rice andvegetablesarefarmedon main economicactivityinthe indigenous birds.Fishingisthe and fauna,includingmigratory habitat foranumberofaquaticflora and theeconomyastheyprovidea are importantforhumannutrition 712 (Table 1). cover anareaof43434andnumber data). Theswampsandmarshes cupy 23436ha(dryseasonsatellite logged areasnumber1126andoc- The resourcesofthesewetlands ra(a % Area (ha) 40' beels 45' 37 .
SOCSCIENCE Table 2. Fish species commonly available in the beels of Assam.
1. Chela laubuca 37. Labeo angra 73. Erethistes pussilus 2. Chela atpar 38. Chagunius chagunio 74. Glyptothorax cavia 3. Securicula gora 39. Tor tor 75. Glyptothorax telchitta 4. Salmostoma bacatla 40. Tot putitora 76. Clarias batrachus 5. Salmostoma phuto 41. Cirrhinus mrigala 77. Heteropneustes fossilis 6. Esomus danrica 42. Cirrhinus reba 78. Chaca chaca 7. Danio devario 43. Catla catla 79. Xenonthodon cancila 8. Rasbora elanga 44. Crossocheilus latius latius 80. Channa marulius 9. Rasbora daniconius 45. Noenacheilus botia botia 81. Channa striatus 10. Rasbora rasbora 46. Botia dario 82. Channa gochua 11. Aspidoparia jaya 47. Lepidocephalichthys guntea 83. Channa stewartii 12. Aspidoparia morar 48. Somileptes gongota 84. Channa panctatus 13. Barilius barila 49. Rita rita 85. Amphipnous cuchia 14. Barilius barna 50. Batasio spp. 86. Chanda nama 15. Barilius shacra 51. Chandramara chandramara 87. Chanda ranga 16. Barilius bola 52. Mystus cavasius 88. Badis badis 17. Barilius bendelistis 53. Mystus vittatus 89. Nandus nandus 18. Barilius tileo 54. Mystus bleekeri 90. Sicanugil cascasia 19. Barilius sp. 55. Mystus menoda 91. Rhinomugil corsula 20. Cyprinus carpio, communis 56. Mystus aor 92. Glossogobius giuris 21. Cyprinus carpio, specularis 57. Mystus seenghala 93. Anabas testudineus 22. Puntius chola 58. Ompok binaculatus 94. Colisa fasciata 23. Puntius sophore 59. Ompok pabo 95. Colisa latius 24. Puntius sarana 60. Ompok pabda 96. Colisa chuna 25. Puntius ticto 61. Wallago atu 97. Colisa baculis 26. Puntius gerius 62. Ailia cotla 98. Macrognathus aculeatus 27. Puntius conchonius 63. Ailia punctata 99. Mastacembalus armatus 28. Osteobrama cotio 64. Pseudeutropius atherinoides 100. Mastacembalus pancalus 29. Labeo rohita 65. Clupisoma garua 101. Tetradon cutcutia 30. Labeo gonius 66. Eutropitichthys vacha 102. Gadusia chapra 31. Labeo calbasu 67. Silonia silondia 103. Setipinna phasa 32. Labeo bata 68. Pangasius pangasius 104. Notopterus chitala 33. Labeo dyocheilus 69. Amblyceps mangois 105. Notopterus notopterus 34. Labeo nandina 70. Bagarius bagarius 106. Ambypharyngodon mola 35. Labeo dero 71. Gagata cenia 36. Labeo pangusia 72. Nangra viridescens
the catchment areas in the post-mon- soon season. The fish species com- Table 3. Soil and water quality of a typical beel. monly available in the beels are listed in Table 2. Most of these are con- Parameters Range sumed as food by the local people. Soil quality Beels are very rich in nutrients and pH 5.10 - 5.80 have a great production potential. Organic carbon (%) 2.80 - 5.90 The soil and water of a typical beel Available nitrogen - N (ppm) 605.00 - 782.00 Available phosphorus - P (ppm) 40.00 - 170.00 are described in Table 3. Based on eco-energy studies, Jhingran and Water quality Pathak (1987) estimated the produc- Temperature (°C) 18.50 - 31.50 tion potential of beels at 18 000 000 Transparency (cm) 48.00 - 121.00 Kcal of energy/ha/year or 1 500 kg/ Dissolved oxygen (ppm) 4.27 - 11.20 pH 6.40 - 7.60 ha/year. The productivity of oxbow Free carbon dioxide (ppm) 2.00 - 12.00 lakes can be increased to 2 000- Bicarbonate (ppm) 15.00 - 40.00 4 000 kg/ha/year by introducing ex- Specific conductivity (mhos/cm) 34.90 - 73.10 tensive or semi-intensive aquacul- Total hardness (ppm) 13.90 - 35.60 ture. In other wetlands, productivity Calcium (ppm) 5.00 - 15.80 Magnesium (ppm) 3.00 - 6.80 can be increased significantly by Dissolved oxygen matter (ppm) 2.77 - 4.80 strictly implementing the existing Phosphate (ppm) 0.02 - 0.10 fisheries regulations. Nitrate (ppm) 0.05 - 0.40 The value of the environmental Silicate (ppm) 4.90 - 12.20 functions of beels has not yet been Source: Jhingran and Pathak (1987). assessed. A complete valuation of
38 Naga, The ICLARM Quarterly (Vol. 23, No. 2) April-June 2000 Naga, TheICLARM Quarterly(Vol. 23,No.2)April-June2000 fish istotally controlled bytheles- (60:40) basis.Themarketing ofthe low wagesoronashare-harvest jacent villagesareemployed atvery fishing. Inmostcases,fishers ofad- The lesseehiresfishersto dothe middlepersons toobtaintheleases. isting policy. Thesystemallowsrich given muchattentionundertheex- tional fisherfolk)communityisnot the interestsof State’s exchequer. Theprotectionof jective istoearnrevenueforthe five yearsatatime.Theprimeob- lease outthe the RevenueDepartmentandAFDC system ofmanagement(Fig.3),both for maintenance.Underthepresent Development Corporation(AFDC) handed overtotheAssamFisheries tial numberof (Settlement). Since1977,asubstan- control oftheRevenueDepartment the potentialbenefits. is requiredtoestimatethevalueof use ofthewetlands)(Barbier1989) other thancurrentdirectorindirect ervation values(thevaluederived of thewetlands)andnon-use/pres- functions orenvironmentalservices activity andpropertybythenatural protection providedtoeconomic rect usevalue(indirectsupportand land resourcesandservices),indi- the economicusemadeofwet- rect usevalue(thederivedfrom development. Anevaluationofdi- full potentialandinplanningtheir of the resources,servicesandattributes 3. Fig. beels In Assam,the Fisher Fish harvest Beel Management willhelpinassessingtheir fisheries management systems in Assam (Ahmed et al. 1992). al. et (Ahmed Assam in systems management fisheries beels y beels beels foraperiodof Koiborta areunderthe havebeen (tradi- Fishers this managementsystem. fish biota,aremeaninglessunder the protectionandconservationof dian FisheriesAct1897,enactedfor system. TheprovisionsoftheIn- fishers workingontheshare-harvest to maximizethecatch,especially The fishersalsohelptheleaseholder is oftenreducedbypumpingitout. beel ing theentirestockoffishfrom lessee maximizesincomebycatch- price fixedbythelessee. to sellitbackthelesseeatalow their shareinthemarket.Theyhave see. Fishersarenotallowedtosell These haveresulted infurthersilt- and horticulture,overfishing. falo andcattlerearing,agriculture from humanactivitiessuch asbuf- slaught onthewetlandshas been by monsoonfloods.Thefinal on- tially reducedtheperiodicflushing quake of1950.Theseleveessubstan- tributaries afterthedevastatingearth- river Brahmaputraandmanyofits along almosttheentirelengthof the constructionofembankments hanced eutrophicationresultedfrom bottom. Thesecondphaseofen- rents anddepositingdebrisatthe cation byslowingdownwatercur- growth andcontributingtoeutrophi- sunlight, inhibitingplanktonic weed obstructsthepenetrationof pant growthofthisfast-growing water hyacinthacenturyago.Ram- beels Toll/monopoly rent As theleaseperiodisfixed, The ecologicaldegradationof Return to inputs to Return . To achievethis,thewaterlevel Factor share startedwiththearrivalof Degradation Inputs, credit Inputs, Ecological g A ents Investm ent in in ent Investm other sectors ment-related initiatives. conservation andforotherenviron- priate policiesfor beels in theprimaryproductivityof changes inbiodiversityand cal interrelationshipsbetween been studied.Informationonecologi- value ofthebiodiversityhasnotyet depends onthe livelihood ofthepopulationthat plications forthefoodsecurityand The changeinbiodiversityhasim- tion ofthewetlands(Aylward1991). component intheeconomicvalua- and Ahmed1995). are onthevergeofextinction(Dubey bagarius such as gered. Anumberoffishspecies, are eitherextinctorhighlyendan- that wereabundantinvarious lizards andvariousspeciesofturtles phins, crocodiles,wintermonitor biomagnification. Freshwaterdol- runoff, leadingtotheproblemof tion ofresiduethroughsurface ties hasresultedintheaccumula- use ofpesticidesinfarmingactivi- and waterquality. Theinjudicious ation anddamagetothemicroflora cally, village andcommunity-based the managementparadigm. Histori- fishing communitytohave a rolein egy doesnotallow forthelocal ever, thecurrentmanagementstrat- utilization, speciallythe economy throughefficientresource Biodiversity canbeanimportant Assam isstrugglingtobuildits Community-based Co-management isrequiredtoestablishappro- payment Lease Puntius jerdoni,Begarius and Semiplotussemiplotus beels sector Nonfisher Government in situ . Theeconomic beels y and . How- ex situ beels 39 ,
SOCSCIENCE Table 4. Household profile of Bhitor change in the management policy for biodiversity through community Kokila Koibara Gaon. beels an imperative. participation. Parameters Number % Biotope improvement is a must A number of fisher cooperatives for the long-term optimum exploi- exist but have no meaningful func- Households surveyed 100 19 Type of family tation of the beels (Jhingran 1979), tion. The members are often igno- Nuclear 40 40 in terms of both environmental pro- rant about their rights and roles. Joint 60 60 tection and productivity. The re- They work as wage labor for the les- Size of family sources will dwindle in due course see who is usually the leader of the 1-5 members 22 22 of time if biotope improvement is cooperative. It is necessary to de- 5-10 members 68 68 10-15 members 20 20 not made (Yadava 1987). Under the velop a community-based co-man- Age distribution present management system no one agement model for the beels of 0-10 years 124 21 is responsible for this aspect. His- Assam like those applied in the res- 11-20 years 103 18 torical information shows that the ervoir fisheries in northeastern Bra- 21-50 years 349 60 beels were once the common prop- zil (Christensen et al. 1995). The above 50 years 5 1 Educational status@ erty of the community and conser- government must take the initiative Illiterate 223 49 vation ethics were followed. and get scientists and development Lower primary 82 18 Catching and killing of broodfish personnel to develop and establish M E* 101 22 and juveniles were prohibited. Such community-based fisheries co-man- HSLC** 51 11 conservation practices still prevail agement for beel fisheries in Assam. Main occupation of the family Fishing 100 100 among the Tiwa community of the Subsidiary occupation Morigaon district in central Assam. Acknowledgements Fish retailing 47 8 Jon beel is a classic example of such Animal husbandry 39 7 management. The authors are grateful to Dr. Vegetable retailing 11 2 In most cases poor fishers are D.C. Goswami and Mr. Prasanna Agriculture 35 6 Baruah, Assam Remote Sensing Horticulture 24 4 also under pressure to increase their Daily wage earner 17 3 income and easily fall prey to the Application Centre, for providing Petty business 5 1 lessee’s interests. In a study (Paswan the satellite data on the wetlands of Landholding et al., pers. comm.) conducted at Assam. The authors also thank Dr. Below 0.5 ha 71 71 Bhitor Kokila Koiborta Gaon, a typi- A.K. Pathak, Director of Research, 0.5 - 1.0 ha 22 22 Assam Agricultural University, 1.0 - 2.0 ha 7 7 cal fishers village comprising 524 Assets families, it was observed that none Jorhat, for his encouragement. Fishing nets 100 100 of the fishers abide by the Indian Hand cart 9 9 Fisheries Act 1897. The household References Bicycles 56 56 profile of the respondents and their Radio 73 73 Ahmed, M., D. Capistrano and M. Television 6 6 compliance with the Indian Fisher- Indigenous fish traps 100 100 ies Act are given in Tables 4 and 5, Hossain. 1992. Redirecting benefits Land use# respectively. The study highlights to genuine fishers: Bangladesh’s Housing - 60 the need for enforcement of the Act new fisheries management policy. Agriculture - 11 to conserve the rich aquatic Naga, ICLARM Q. 15(4):31-34. Horticulture - 20 Livestock raising - 7 Others - 2 Annual income Table 5. Compliance with fisheries regulations, % of respondents.
management of beels and traditional Lodge reports of violations of rules 0 100 fishing rights have existed. However, for the most part, these systems have Official monitoring of fishing in 0 100 closed season disappeared. Recognition of the need for sustainable development and the Official checking of mesh size to 0 100 need to address the ecological, eco- prevent catching of undersized fishes nomic and social objectives, makes a
40 Naga, The ICLARM Quarterly (Vol. 23, No. 2) April-June 2000 Naga, TheICLARM Quarterly(Vol. 23,No.2)April-June2000 Bhagowati, A.K,B.C.Borah,U.K. Bates, R.L.andJ.A.Jackson.1980.Glos- Barbier, E.B. 1989. Theeconomicvalue Aylward, B.1991.Theeconomicvalue Anon. 1997.Wetlands ofAssam. Fax: Tel.: E-mail: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia INFOFISH, P.O. Box10899,50728 Contact: Ministry ofAgriculture,Malaysia and DepartmentofFisheries(DOF) Fisheries DevelopmentAuthority(LKIM) In collaborationwith: and FAO ICLARM –TheWorldFishCenter INFOFISH Organized by: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 28–30 May2001 and TradeTilapia and on Conference TechnicalInternational TILAPIA 2001 Announcing . resource managementinAssam,p. fish farmingsystemsforsustainable 1997. Potentialsfordifferent rice- Baruah, S.R.BaroovaandP.K. Gogoi. cal Institute,Virginia. sary ofgeology. AmericanGeologi- London, U.K. Environment andDevelopment, Centre, InternationalInstitutefor London EnvironmentalEconomics p. 1-8.GatekeeperSer. LEEC89-02. of ecosystems1–Tropical wetlands, Development, London,U.K. tute forEnvironmentand nomics Centre,InternationalInsti- 89-02. LondonEnvironmentalEco- sity, p.1-10.GatekeeperSer. LEEC of ecosystems3–Biologicaldiver- ton, DC. can GeologicalInstitute,Washing- Wolf. Glossaryofgeology. Ameri- Margarate, M.Obbert,Jr. andC.L. tion Centre,Guwahati. Assam RemoteSensingApplica- (603)269-14466 (603) 269-16804 [email protected] In G.R. interested inthetilapiaindustry. officials, policymakers,potential investors,environmentalistsandallothers and fishers,suppliersofgoods andservices,industryleaders,government Who shouldattend: Jhingran, V.G. 1979.Needforecologi- Dutta, P.N. andB.Lahon. 1987.Pros- Dubey, G.P. andA.Ahmed.1995.Prob- Dey, S.C.1981.Studiesonthehydro- Christensen, M.S.,W.J.M. Soares,F.C.S. for 21 Rainfed RiceProductionStrategy 65. Khanapara, Guwahati. Assam AgriculturalUniversity, velopment ofBeelFisheryinAssam. Compendium ofWorkshop onDe- eries inAssam,p.1-7. pect andpotentialitiesofbeelfish- ICLARM Q.18(3):21-25. and somepossiblesolutions.Naga, water fishmetricresourcesinIndia lems fortheconservationoffresh- cil, Shillong. Final Tech. Rep.NorthEasternCoun- bearing onfishproduction,p.177. Kamrup districtofAssamandtheir mercially importantlakes(beels)of biological conditionsofsomecom- zil. Naga,ICLARMQ.18(2):7-9. ervoir fisheryinnortheasternBra- Participatory managementofares- Bezerra andG.M.L.Barros.1995. tural University, Jorhat.(Abstract). In InternationalSymposiumon st Century. AssamAgricul- · · · · · · · covering: prehensive technicalandtradeconference organizers presentTILAPIA2001,acom- 21 tilapia, variouslyhailedas“thefishofthe recognition ofthepromiseandpotential new speciesinworldfisheriesandtrade.In The tilapiaisfastemergingasanimportant
Exporters, processors,traders, researchers,farmers st century”and“theaquaticchicken”,the Environmental andrelatedissues Markets andmarketing Tilapia forfoodsecurity Tilapia ininternationaltrade markets Value-added tilapiaproductsformajor (“from pondtoplate”) in capture,cultureandprocessing Research andtechnologicaladvances Tilapia productiontrendsandoutlook In Yadava, Y.S. 1987.Studiesontheecol- Jhingran, A.G.andPathak.1987.Ecol- Jorhat –785013,Assam,India. tre, Assam AgriculturalUniversity, are fromtheFisheriesResearchCen- R.K. T Presidential addresstothe66 of inlandfisheriesresources,p.34. cal orientationtothemanagement University, Khanapara,Guwahati. ery inAssam.AssamAgricultural shop onDevelopmentofBeelFish- p. 70-88. the developmentofbeelsinAssam, ogy ofanox-bowlakeincontextto University, Khanapara,Guwahati. ery inAssam.AssamAgricultural shop onDevelopmentofBeelFish- p. 16-36. Assam –acasestudyofthreebeels, ogy andmanagementofbeelsin dian ScienceCongress,Hyderabad. U.K. B ALUKDAR ARUAH In In CompendiumofWork- CompendiumofWork- and , A.K.B
P.K. S HAGOWATI AHARIA th In- 41 ,
SOCSCIENCE