Ginger Prawn Fishery in Gulf of Kutch: A Seasonal Livelihood for the Traditional Fishermen

Seasonal fi shery of Metapenaeus kutchensis (ginger prawn) is a signifi cant source of livelihood for the socioeconomically backward part-time fi shermen in the Gulf of Kutch region in India. During the southwest monsoon, a temporary but highly productive estuarine condition is created which provides nursery ground for various species of fiand shellfi sh in the little Rann of Kutch. A large number of prawn postlarvae migrate into the region and provide a short time opportunity to the fi shermen for maximum exploitation of the fi shery by the use of traditional gears like ‘Gunja’ and ‘Katar jaal’ and crafts like ‘Odie’. This traditional fi shery is also known as ‘Pagadia fi shery’ when fi shermen do the entire fi shing operation without the use of ‘Odie’. The sampling study of three selected sites, viz., Surajbari, Madherkhi, and Tikar revealed an annual turnover of around ` 200 million during a short fi shing period of two months (August‐September). The fi shermen involved in the fi shery are part-time fi shermen as they spend the major part of their life as laborers in the salt pans and adjacent cement factories. The short-term ginger prawn fi shery renders them a huge economic opportunity and decides the monetary fate of the family for the rest of the year. However, this irrational overfi shing of the juveniles can lead to a complete collapse of the fi shery due to the decrease of spawning stock biomass. This can severely disturb the livelihood opportunity of these fi shermen and hence proper awareness among the fi shermen is presently required. Introduction of alternative livelihood options like cage and pen culture techniques, product diversifi cation, and value addition techniques as well as establishment of proper marketing channel can improve the situation. The Gulf of Kutch situated in the northwest corner of India and spread over an area of 7300 km 2 is considered a highly productive and diversifi ed ecosystem along the western coast of Gujarat. The southern coastal belt of Kutch has a network of islands and inlets covered with mangroves and surrounded by coral reefs whereas the northern region with numerous creeks and rivulets sustains large stretches of mangroves and mud fl ats having abundant resources of shrimp, fi n fi shes, sponges, corals, and algae. The Gulf of Kutch has an intertidal zone which expands 2 km towards the upstream and harbors the