Chennai

Unfortunately, sustainable fishing is eroded by a mismatch between seafood harvest and consumption. Small-scale fishermen, with the lowest ecological footprint, are not rewarded. Recently, three researchers from Chennai – Dr Divya Karnad, Dr. Chaitanya Krishna and Dhruv Gangadharan – have found that urban seafood consumers are important contributors to the unsustainable seafood trade. Divya, who is also an assistant professor at Ashoka University, says, “Seafood is a common ingredient in many people’s diet, but it is also the last wild food regularly eaten in the civilised world. As a result, most people don’t think of seafood as wildlife, which has deep consequences for sustainable fisheries. Managing fisheries alone is not resulting in global seafood sustainability. 

Instead, globalised seafood supplies allow for some places to have sustainable fisheries at the cost of others, which have to make up the deficit. The only way forward is to bring the demand for seafood in sync with sustainable seafood supplies.” The study done by the duo examined how urban, middle-class Indian seafood eaters, from four Indian metropolitan cities connect with seafood, and how these connections have eroded over time. The study also analysed seafood choices in restaurants in these four metros. “In addition to other fisheries governance and trade regulation mechanisms, our study outlines the role that seafood consumers can play in our collective quest for ocean health and sustainable seas,” says Dr Chaitanya Krishna.

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