Daily Archives: November 7, 2014

Kerala’s Ashtamudi lake gets recognition for sustainable clam fishing

File photo shows view of the Ashtamudi lake at sunset from Dalawapuram in Kollam. / The Hindu
File photo shows view of the Ashtamudi lake at sunset from Dalawapuram in Kollam. / The Hindu

Ashtamudi lake, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, is the second largest estuarine system in Kerala and the clam fishery began in 1981.

Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar on Friday announced that the Clam Governing Council of Ashtamudi lake in Kerala was the first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery in India.

Speaking at a press conference, he said that the fisherfolk decided to go in for sustainable activities after they extracted over 10,000 tonne clams from the lake, reducing its capacity over the years. This was the first such certification for India, he pointed out.

The Ashtamudi Estuary showcases to the world that development and environment protection go hand in hand and participatory approach at the local level in managing biodiversity is an important aspect of it, an official statement said. This achievement also opens up the scope for other fisheries in India to work towards MSC certification, which would enhance conservation and sustainability of the resource, while providing greater economic returns. The MSC is an international non-profit organisation set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and eco-labeling programme for wild-capture fisheries. Ashtamudi short neck clam fishery is only the third fishery in Asia to have received the recognition, the statement added.

Ashtamudi lake, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, is the second largest estuarine system in Kerala and the clam fishery began in 1981. It supports the livelihoods of around 3000 fisherfolk involved in collection, cleaning processing and trading clams. The growth of Ashtamudi’s commercial fishery was driven by demand from Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia in the 1980s and the 1990s. By 1991, the catch peaked at 10,000 tonne a year, but declined by 50 per cent in 1993 due to overfishing.

Faced with the prospect of dwindling catch, the community decided to restrict fishing and impose mesh size restrictions for nets, along with a minimum export size and a prohibition on mechanical clam fishing, the official statement added. These measures showed immediate effects, and clam fishery has sustained landings of around 10,000 tonne a year for the past decade.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S&T> Environment / by Special Correspondent / New Delhi – November 07th, 2014

Standing tall in the face of adversity

J. Shahjahan, captain of the Kerala University Blind Cricket team. / The Hindu
J. Shahjahan, captain of the Kerala University Blind Cricket team. / The Hindu

Visually challenged student bags Young Achiever Award.

As far as fielding positions in cricket are concerned, J. Shahjahan prefers standing at ‘short.’ “You know, where Gautam Gambhir normally stands,” he said, a comparison he often draws to help those not so well-versed with cricket parlance. This is a place uncomfortably close to the batsman, one that even the fittest of players would not be too thrilled to serve. But this 26-year-old captain of the Kerala University Blind Cricket team is.

Mr. Shahjahan, whose indomitable spirit for the game has also found him a place in the State-level team for the visually challenged, is one of the five recipients in the country of this year’s Young Achiever Award instituted by the Amway Opportunity Foundation. The award was introduced in 2013 by the Corporate Social Responsibility wing of Amway India with the objective of identifying and supporting efforts of youth who are differently abled and belong to financially underprivileged backgrounds. He will receive the award at a function to be held in Chandigarh on November 8.

The National Association for the Blind in Kerala nominated his name for the award.

Born partially sighted, his condition worsened with age. But it has not been a deterrent to Mr. Shahjahan’s efforts to succeed. It is not just the joy of playing that gets this ‘all-rounder’ out on the cricket pitch at the university hostel here, but the fact that it has proven really uplifting for everyone in his team, nearly all of whom have had to deal with condescending, discriminatory treatment all their lives.

Even if they get to seriously practice only once a month, it is something they excel in. “If we could, we would get out on to the pitch everyday but any tournament we participate in or any practice we arrange has to be carried out using our own money. We have never had sponsors to support us,” said Mr. Shahjahan.

“It is not our physical capabilities that have frustrated us, it is the system,” he said. Mr. Shahjahan’s two role-models in the game are barely recognisable names — A. Manish and M.T. Manoj, who excelled in the national team for the Blind Cricket World Cup held in Islamabad in 2006.

Mr. Shahjahan is currently pursuing MA Malayalam at University College here.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Kaavya Pradeep Kumar / Thursday – November 05th, 2014