WWF-India and the International Pole & Line Foundation (IPNLF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work more collaboratively on behalf of a one-by-one skipjack tuna fishery off the coast of Kerala, India.
The overriding aim of this commitment to the traditional fishery in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, a tropical archipelago in the Laccadive Sea, is to progress the environmental and social sustainability of the fishery and safeguard the livelihoods of the fishers and communities that it supports.
Martin Purves, managing director of IPNLF, said that “the Lakshadweep pole-and-line commercial sector could benefit greatly from the increased market access that will result from this improvement initiative. It offers a means of capitalising on the unprecedented international consumer demand for sustainably-managed, traceable one-by-one caught tuna.”
Policy development
Through the MOU, which is initially effective for a period of three years, WWF-India and IPNLF will support activities that will ensure an improved understanding of the fishery and fishing communities in Lakshadweep and help develop and formulate fishery development policies for the MSC certification of the pole-and-line skipjack tuna fishery; and develop and improve the fishery catch, data collection, compilation and reporting system to meet the demands of evolving national, regional and international fishery regulatory framework, research and management needs.
They will also improve the monitoring and management of the livebait fishery through education of the fishermen and improve routine collection of livebait catch data; and exchange information on activities of mutual interest.
