Perceptions matter: how fishermen’s perceptions affect trends of sustainability in Indian fisheries D IVYA K ARNAD ,M AYURESH G ANGAL and K RITHI K. K ARANTH Abstract Indian marine fisheries have expanded four-fold in the last 50 years in the form of open-access commons. Although studies predict that fish stocks are on the decline there is little evidence that these declines are being countered by changes in either fishing regulations or fishing practices. Fishermen rarely comply with regulations, instead operationalizing and directing the fishery on their own. In these circumstances understanding how fishermen perceive and use resources has significant management and policy implications. Our study examined fishermen’s perceptions about the state of fish stocks and documents current fishing practice and management strategies in India. We surveyed 342 fishermen in two states, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. We found that 86% of fishermen perceived a decline in catch and 69% perceived a decline in bycatch. Fishermen adapt to these declines by increasing fishing area and time spent, changing their gear, and overlapping in fishing zones. The convoluted interactions between ineffec- tive community and state regulations guiding their ac- tions has prevented fishermen from developing successful models of sustainable fisheries management. We identified non-compliance with regulations and government incen- tives as an important livelihood opportunity. Non-com- pliance drives change in fishing practice by giving fishermen the flexibility to respond to perceived fish catch dynamics by modifying their practices. We recommend strengthening local fishing communities by enabling them to enforce fishing regulations locally and by scaling back of existing government incentives, to protect the sustainability of these fisheries. Keywords Community-based management, fishing, India, perceptions, questionnaire, sustainability Introduction M arine fishing is estimated to be a USD 100 billion industry, with seafood comprising 19% of global human protein consumption (Botsford et al., 1997; Pauly, 2009). Fishing has severely affected marine ecosystems, and potentially has major spillover effects on food and livelihood security (Pauly et al., 2002). Fisheries are prone to serious lapses in regulation, monitoring and management because of their open access nature (Botsford et al., 1997; Cooke & Cowx, 2006). The lack of effective monitoring also results in failure to assess the true state of fisheries and stocks (Worm et al., 2009; Branch et al., 2011), particularly in developing countries. Stock assessment-based management in developing countries could prove unreliable (see Kasim et al., 2002, and Muthiah et al., 2003, for contradicting recommendations about seerfish exploitation) given the inconsistency of ecological baselines and lack of scientific knowledge about the multi-species fisheries in these countries. Management action based on single-species assessments also results in conflicts between regulating agencies and the multi-species nature of the actual fishery (Beddington et al., 2007). Inconsistent knowledge about multi-species fisheries and fishing practices contributes to fish declines and the imperiled state of many fisheries (Ban & Vincent, 2009). National fisheries laws and international treaties are often not linked to the local realities that fishermen face (Allison, 2001). Local participation in fisheries management predicates understanding and building on the existing trends and patterns of resource use (St. Martin, 2001; Chan et al., 2007; Ostrom, 2007). Although better fishery management could create and preserve sustainable fishing practices, ensuring compliance with regulations requires local acceptance and participation (Bavinck & Johnson, 2008). Fishery managers must acknowledge that people’s perceptions about a fishery influence their resource extrac- tion patterns and local fisheries management (Castillo & Saysel, 2005; Beddington et al., 2007). These perceptions are particularly important in developing countries such as India, where centralized governance of fisheries is poorly enforced. Fishing behaviour, practice and the success of future management interventions is influenced by per- ceptions about the fishery (Hansen et al., 2011) but there have been few studies in India that have systematically documented these perceptions and practices. The Indian fishery has expanded almost four-fold in the mechanized and industrial sectors over the last 50 years (Bhathal & Pauly, 2008) but despite an increase in marine exports (MPEDA, 2011) studies have predicted an overall decline in fish stocks (Bhathal & Pauly, 2008; Lobo et al., 2010). Our study explores these predicted declines by DIVYA KARNAD* (Corresponding author) and MAYURESH GANGAL National Centre for Biological Sciences, Hebbal, Bengaluru, India. E-mail divyakarnad@ hotmail.com KRITHI K. KARANTH† Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, India; and Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx Zoo, New York, USA *Current address: Department of Geography, Rutgers University, New Brunswick 08901, USA †Also at: Nicholas School of Environment, Duke University, Durham, USA Received 3 April 2012. Revision requested 20 June 2012. Accepted 14 August 2012. First published online 25 September 2013. © 2013 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 48(2), 218–227 doi:10.1017/S0030605312001251 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605312001251 Published online by Cambridge University Press