The Trawl Guard is made of about 4 Kg of Nylon rope only and fitted to the mouth of the trawl net so as to prevent all unwarranted big size objects living or non-living from entering into the net , and thereby helps the fishermen to have a safe and smooth trawling in the sea for hours together. The square-like holes of the Trawl Guard however allow the fishes including big-size fish weighing 40 Kg to pass through them into the body of the net. The size of the holes can be increased or decreased easily depending upon the needs of the fishermen.
The origin of this simple, inexpensive, indigenous and innovative device took place in the immediate aftermath of the Super Cyclone of October 1999 in Orissa coast. Large logs of tree trunks which were swept off by the cyclone and had accumulated in the sea bottom proved a great nuisance to the fishermen, since these were often entering into the net and damaging both net and catch. The crews of one Sona Type Trawler ' Maa Janani' of Astarang in response to this unforeseen disturbance devised out of their ingenuity the simple technique of guarding the mouth of the net by crossed nylon ropes and found it to be effective for the purpose of disallowing the unwarranted logs inside the net. In due course, the crews found that the new device guards the net not only against the tree trunks, but also against the entry of turtles and sharks, which are big size species and declared endangered. The crews therefore continued to use this multi-purpose device even after the problem of post-cyclone debris was long over.
On 27th January 2002, when Sri Satyabrata Sahu, Director of Fisheries Orissa visited Paradip coast to oversee the operation of TED accompanied by his official colleagues and NGO team from Project Swarajya, the Driver of Maa Janani Sri Aniruddha Dalei came rushing and informed Sri R.S.Mishra , ex-Deputy Director of Fisheries that he was using a device made of rope, which is simpler and cheaper than TED but works better than TED. Then it was decided between Sri R.S.Misha and Sri Chitta Behera ( Advisor to Project Swarajya ) that the device should be subject to further trials by the same crews.
In the evening of 10th Feb the two crews Sri Aniruddha Dalei ( Driver ) and Sri Jogendra Dalei (Net Binder ) came to Paradip International, where Sri Chitta Behera was staying in connexion with the TED Workshop of 9-12 Feb, and informed that the fishing results of the new device for several days have been satisfactory to them and their owner and it could be now demonstrated to any body whosoever wants to see.
The next day , that is , 11th Feb was as per the pre-scheduled agenda of the Workshop, the day of Comparative Demonstration of Trawling with and without TED off Paradip coast. In the morning at around 9 AM , 4 vessels fitted with TED started off for the on-sea demonstration. At around 11 AM a team consisting essentially of persons who were left out due to the problem of accommodation, boarded Maa Janani at New Fishing Harbour and sailed off for the demonstration of the new device Trawl Guard. The Trawl owner Sri Rohit Kumar Behera , Driver Sri Aniruddha Dalei and Net Man Sri Jogendra Dalei were among the 8 member crew aboard. Incidentally, a 3-member team of Doordarshan Bhubaneswar who had arrived there anxiously to cover the on-sea TED demonstration but were left behind due to time factor, boarded Maa Janani also along with others. Sri Chitta Behera apart, the team of Project Swarajya who were on board through out consisted of Sri Mohan Jena, President, Mrs.Dolli Dash Secretary, Ms.Sasmita Mohanty, Assistant Secretary, Ms.Sophia Shaik, a GB member, Mrs. Mamata Das, a Social Worker, Ms. Darakshan Mahajabin a Social Worker and Ms.Amruta Mohanty, a student of Social Work.
The hauling took place only for half an hour i.e. from 12 noon to 12.30 PM at about 9 fathom depth and at a distance of about 3 Km off the shore line . The entire hauling exercise was videographed from the deck by the Doordarshan team. When the net was pulled up , the following fishes were found inside the net :
A Class ( Tiger and White Prawn ) - 4 Kg approx.
B Class - 6 Kg approx.
C Class - 3 Kg.approx.
There was no turtle or any big-size unwarranted catch in the net. However, some jelly fishes and Octopuses were found, which were instantly thrown back into the waters. On the whole the catch seemed to be comparatively cleaner of debris, than the usual. The owner and the crew were interviewed by the Doordarshan team as to whether they were satisfied with the amount of fish catch they got in view of the time and expenses they incurred, and the reply was a happy and smiling yes.
The crew and accompanying teams thereafter returned ashore shouting the slogan, 'Trawl Guard - Zindabad'. The members of the Trawl Owners Association who were from afar watching with curiosity the unusual practice of sloganeering inside the harbour did at once confuse it with an advocacy forTED. They called the personnel of Project Swarajya to their Office located near the fishing base, where incidentally Sri T.K.Patnaik, their President and Sri Har Mohan Khuntia, a Senior Member along with other members were present. They asked umpteen questions about the Trawl Guard, which were patiently answered by Sri C.R.Behera on the basis of the latest collective observation. At last, the members of the Trawlers Association agreed that there was no harm in trying the new-born device in respect of its efficacy to retain the fish catch while preventing the turtle and other unwarranted big-size objects from entering into the trawl net altogether. From the side of the Fisheries Dept, Sri A.C.Nayak, DDF (M) and Sri P.D.Roy, Production Officer were appearing off and on during the discussion albeit as silent witnesses on the subject.
The next day i.e. 12th Feb. the Valedictory Day, first of all the trawling results of fishing with and without TED in the 4 nos. of commissioned vessels were put forth respectively by the Fishery Officials and Trawl Owners. It was unanimously claimed by the trawl owners that the fish escape through the exit hole of TED being intolerably high, TED as designed by CIFT and demonstrated to them in the present form was not at all acceptable them. The Recommendations of the Workshop which were deliberated freely by participants from all sides and ultimately passed with necessary amendments under the chairmanship of Sri T.K.Behera, Joint Director of Fisheries, Orissa did also acknowledge in so many words the felt need for further research on TED or any such device with a view to reduce the fish escape to zero or a tolerable minimum.
In the same session, Sri R.S.Mishra, a guest speaker on the occasion in his speech appealed to the trawl owners saying that if they reject TED, they might try Trawl Guard, which was a comparable device for similar functions as that of TED, but was much cheaper, easier to install and simpler to handle, so much so that no scientist from outside was necessary to teach our fishermen how to fabricate and install a device that retained the fish while whisking away the unwarranted species or debris from the very beginning . A hand-written paper in Oriya ' Discovery of Trawl Guard' jointly authored by Sri R.S,Mishra and Sri C.R.Behera was also circulated among the participants. Brief consultations were also held with Wildlife scientists like Dr.C.S.Kar and Dr.Bibhas Panav and with Fishery Officials who agreed on the need for its further field trial.
CHITTA BEHERA