DOI: https://doi.org/10.48001/veethika.2021.07.03.0010.48001/veethika.2021.07.01.006 Research Article Volume-7 | Issue-3| Jul-Sep-2021| Traditional fishing methods used by the fishermen in the Sundarban region, West Bengal Nithar Ranjan Madhu* 1 , Bhanumati Sarkar 2 , Chandan Kumar Acharya 3 1 Department of Zoology, Acharya Prafulla Chandra College, New Barrackpore, West Bengal , INDIA 2 Department of Botany, Acharya Prafulla Chandra College, New Barrackpore, West Bengal, INDIA 3 Department of Botany, Bajkul Milani Mahavidyalaya, Kismat Bajkul, West Bengal, INDIA *Correspondence: nithar_1@yahoo.com ABSTRACT: In 2020-2021, 14 Blocks out of 19 Blocks in the Indian Sundarban regions studied fishing methods. According to our study, current socio-economic circumstances in Indian Sundarban regions show that their lifestyle is unsuitable for low family income. This is due to large annual disasters such as cyclones, storms, floods, and the water's salinity. A network of rivers and canals connects the Sundarban. The majority of the population is reliant on fishing activity, and in particular, the livelihood of the local people is supported by capture fisheries, which are in turn reliant on fishing activity. During the study, fishers' homes received knowledge about various crafts and equipment through monthly visits. Fishers have used indigenous fishing techniques and gear in the Indian Sundarban areas to capture fish, increasingly contributing to the local economy and overall fish output. During the research period, five different kinds of crafts and twelve different kinds of gear were found. The study reveals different indigenous fishing gears used in the locality, such as nets, traps, lines and hooks. To catch various fish of various sizes, fishers employ a variety of fishing gears, each with a distinct form and size. Most fishermen in the area collect unripe fruits velvet apple (Diospyros sp.) from the forest and boil them in large pots with sufficient water. Nets and other traps are dried in the sun after being polished with an extract. The purpose of this article is to document fishery- related technical knowledge, particularly traditional fishing techniques and gears utilised in the Indian Sundarban area. KEYWORDS: Craft, Gear, Sundarban, Fishermen, Traditional techniques 1. INTRODUCTION The term Sundarbans is believed to have been derived from Sundri or Sundari (Heritiera fomes), the name of the vast mangrove trees that are most abundant in the region. The Sundarbans are home to an exceptionally diverse range of aquatic and terrestrial vegetation and animals. The highly fertile environment of the Sundarbans serves as a natural fish nursery. The Sundarban Mangrove helps decrease the ferocity of cyclonic storms and avoid erosion caused by tidal currents. Millions of people rely on the Sundarban ecosystem for their livelihood and subsistence, including fishing, harvesting fuelwood and lumber, and honey collecting. The Indian portion of the Sunderbans has 9630 square kilometres and includes several islands and mainland connections (Saha et al., 2018). Fisheries and farming are the primary sources of income for this occupation. Several authors have reported different important fishes and their parasites at various locations (Ray et al., 2016a; Ray et al., 2016b; Dhara et al., 2016). The Sundarbans are an aquatic hotspot where freshwater fish and saltwater fish are found close to one another. The coastal fisheries of eastern India are completely reliant on the Sundarbans for their livelihood (Sen and Mandal, 2019; Ghosh et al., 2017). Shrimp farms and brackish-water paddy cum prawn culture systems are also becoming major sectors of VEETHIKA-An International Interdisciplinary Research Journal E-ISSN: 2454-342x Double Blind Peer Reviewed Journal URL: https://veethika.qtanalytics.in