Crisis of Sustainability or Perils of Ill-managed Open Access Fisheries? Analysis of Long-term Catch Trends in Marine Fisheries of Maharashtra and India

The dynamics in the landings of marine fisheries resources in Maharashtra over the past five decades (1961–2010) have been examined after classifying them into 24 different resource groups. The decade wise compound growth rates (CGR) of different resource groups and coefficient of variation have been calculated. The present status of 25 resource groups has been examined separately based on a simple criterion. The study has revealed that marine fishery in Maharashtra state is facing crisis since late-1990s. Most of the fish stocks that were classified as abundant and less abundant at the country level, have come under declining category in the case of Maharashtra. It indicates that state-wise scenario is different from the national scenario and state-wise understanding of marine fishery resources is very important for formulating regulatory and management measures.