Fishing intensity has increased drastically in open access, poorly regulated fisheries in developing countries, particularly in Asia, over the last two decades resulting in severe threats to marine species in this region. India has risen to be a top seafood harvester in Asia and uncontrolled fishing could drive commercially important and threatened marine species to extinction. The most common solutions to overcoming the adverse impacts of fishing have been legislations by government to regulate fishing, the amount of seafood that is harvested and the creation of marine protected areas. All these methods are highly reliant on constant monitoring and enforcement by government agencies and their representatives. As a result these approaches are time consuming, expensive and have been criticized for their inability to successfully promote the twin goals of ensuring ecological sustainability and meeting socio-economic needs of fishermen. Traditional or community based fisheries management has not been promoted as an alternative.

Fishermen in India have already begun to perceive declines in the catches of commercially important species like seer-fish and mackerels, as well as of economically less important species like sharks, sea turtles and marine invertebrates. As India’s contribution to global seafood markets rises, it is very important to find alternate, community-based solutions to sustainably manage these fisheries. Evidence from South India suggests that communities of fishermen sometimes get together to initiate more equitable fisheries management. However, there have been very few studies about how these management regimes can be made more biodiversity friendly. This project aims to highlight and encourage community based conservation of threatened, and commercially important marine species in coastal Maharashtra. This project will also contribute to the larger concern of raising awareness about marine conservation in India through outreach programs using multiple media formats.