( Presented in the 'Workshop on Networking and Coordination for TED manufacture and promotion along Indian coast' held on 10-11 December 2002 at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh under the joint aegis of MPEDA ( Marine Product Export Development Authority, Cochin) and WII ( Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun)

TED WORKSHOP-CUM-DEMOS

Two National level Workshop-cum-Demonstrations on TED have been held in the past at Paradip in Orissa, jointly by the Department of Fisheries, Orissa and Project Swarajya involving among others the trawl owners/operators who are the primary target group, and also the representatives of concerned technical and scientific bodies, such as CIFT, CMFRI, MPEDA, Ministry of Agriculture, GOI and above all Wildlife Institute of India. These Workshops were held:

1. November 11-14, 1996
2. February 9-12, 2002

WHY TED IS OPPOSED BY ORISSA'S TRAWLERS?

As evident from the deliberations of the above-said Workshop-cum-Demos, the Trawl Owners/Operators resent the imposition of TED on the following grounds:

• Basically designed for shrimp fishery in USA waters, it is unsuitable for mixed fishery in Indian waters.
• The fish escape through the TED hole is unusually high.
• Design, Construction, Installation and Maintenance of TED involve technicalities, which are beyond the capacity of trawl owners.
• Above all, the very method of testing the TED efficiency in respect of exiting the turtle and retaining the fish catch, as done by way of attaching a Second Cod end, atop the TED hole is questionable in itself.

x         x     x         x         x         x         x     x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x     

3..The fishing results of yesterday's demonstration by four trawlers as a part this Workshop, have proved that a device like TED, if used, would result in the escape of fish catch of a trawler as much as by 50%. So one should not compel the trawling industry of Orissa to use TED.

4..The scientists of CIFT (Central Institute of Fisheries Technology) who were also present during the on-sea demonstration of TED have themselves seen its results. They might work out a new, alternative device in place of TED, which would cause no loss at all to the fish catch while safeguarding the turtle.

5..If at all a new, alternative device is designed, it should be subject to repeated field-trials for its economic viability by the appropriate Government agencies at least for a year, before the issuing of any Government order to the fishing communities for use of this new device.

x         x     x         x         x         x         x     x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x     

8..The devices like TED should not be thrust on the trawl owners of Orissa, nor a huge amount of money of UNDP and Central Government allowed as at present to be wasted away on the pretext of turtle conservation and monitoring

x         x     x         x         x         x         x     x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x          x     

2. Trial of the indigenous CIFT/any other models of TED or their modifications in Orissa coastal waters for their economic viability in participation with users and observers to continue at least for one year.

3. CIFT-TED not only shows exit of turtles successfully, but also the fish escape which seems to be higher, envisages further improvement in the fabrication of TED and its installation.

TRAWL GUARD -its origin

It was invented by Sri Aniruddha Dalai, a trawl operator of Orissa in cooperation with his colleague Sri Jogendra Dalai in the wake of the Super Cyclone of 29 October 1999, which had taken place with Paradip as its epicentre. Being swept off by the Cyclone, large size logs of tree trunks had accumulated in the sea bottom, creating thereby a lot of obstacles to the bottom trawling by way of damaging the net, covering the net mouth, and resisting the smooth motion of the trawler. In the face of this unforeseen challenge, both Dalais innovated the cheap and easy-to-handle device 'Trawl guard' and found that it not only saved the trawl net from the accidental damage by the logs of wood, but also from the accidental entry of the turtles or any other huge-size, unwarranted by-catch species into the net. Moreover, the Trawl Guard while making it impossible for a Turtle to accidentally enter the net, did however allow all sorts of big size fishes upto as much as 40 kg weight each to enter the net without any obstacle.

TRAWL GUARD- Its advantages

• Unlike TED which has its origins in USA, the Trawl Guard is completely indigenous, in the sense that it has been invented by a trawl operator of Orissa coast, suitable, by default, for India's coastal waters.
  
  
• Unlike the metal frame of TED which is designed and manufactured in a special way, it is made of only 4 kg of nylon rope, costing only less than Rs.500/-, which any ordinary fisherman can procure and leisurely shape by himself with a little effort.
  
  
• Unlike the TED which requires the trawl net to be cut at its throat for installation of TED at a specific angle, along with a flap atop the TED hole, the Trawl Guard is fitted just at the mouth of the Trawl net, and any trawl worker can fit it.
  
  
• Unlike TED, which requires daily maintenance, the maintenance of Trawl Guard is damn easy and simple.
  
  
• Unlike the TED, which is basically meant for shrimp catch and excludes some or other amount of fish ( of big and medium size) along with turtle, the Trawl Guard is foolproof in exiting the turtles and retaining the big fishes upto 40 kg weight.
  
  

TRAWL GUARD- Its test so far

• The Trawl Guard ever since its invention by the Dalai couple was put to use in the sea off Paradip and Astarang coasts of Orissa in the whole of the turtle seasons of 1999-2000, 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 last in 'Maa Janani Trawler' and was found to be effective as a Trawling Efficiency Device ( TED) in true sense of the term.
  
  
• On the 3rd day of the Workshop-cum-Demonstration on TED ( 11th Feb.) held at Paradip in Feb. 2002 last, there took place a parallel on-sea Demonstration of Trawl Guard vis--vis comparative TED demo in 4 separate trawlers. The Trawl Guard experiment was conducted by its originators the Dalai couple in the presence of Sri Chitta Behera, Advisor to Project Swarajya and his colleagues and also the Doordarshan team. The results of the said Trawl Guard experiment were extensively discussed with Sri T.K.Patnaik, President Orissa Marine Fish Producers Association and his colleagues, and later on reviewed by Sri R.S.Mishra, Retd. Deputy Director of Fisheries, Orissa, who in course of his address in the Valedictory Session of the Workshop had recommended its further trial. A paper jointly authored by Sri R.S.Mishra and Sri C.R.Behera on Trawl Guard was also circulated among the trawl owners and other delegates of the Workshop on the same day.
  

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

Trawl Guard should be further tried in different coasts of India involving the trawling community, so as to test the veracity of the claim of its inventors that it has all the merits of TED minus its demerits.