Clam collectors stares at an uncertain future
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With the annual ban on harvesting in drive and anxious over the upcoming season as a result of decline in inventory, the clam collectors of Ashtamudi are staring at a shaky future.
While lots of them shall be struggling for survival until the ban ends, they appear extra distraught over the potential for a dry season. According to fishers, the conventional estuarine ecosystem has been steadily altering through the years, posing a severe risk to their livelihood.
“Be it fish or clam, there has been a considerable dip in catch. During the breeding season female clams lay lakhs of eggs, but there are some factors, including salinity, temperature and pollution, that affect the breeding,” says Murguan from Dalavapuram.
In early 2020, clam collectors had noticed an invasive bivalve species that simply colonised the creeks of Ashtamudi. “This mussel leaves no space for native species to settle and we feel that this can make breeding very difficult. We feel very apprehensive about what awaits us after the ban,” he says.
B. Yesudas, president, Clam Collector’s Union, says boats utilizing unlawful and unscientific strategies are chargeable for the dip in inventory, whereas conventional clam collectors are left to face the music. “It is not possible for manual collectors to exhaust the stock and individuals diving into the water can hardly damage the clam bed. The practice of ‘kuthi vali’ is the reason as they use large boats and pulleys to harvest the clams,” he says.
In the method, collectors often plough via the clam mattress sweeping every thing, together with juvenile clams. “Though illegal, the practice is rampant in many parts and is responsible for the decline in spawner population,” he says.
In a bid to replenish the clam inventory and promote sustainable improvement of assets, the Fisheries Department had arrange sanctuaries in Ashtamudi. The protected websites had helped the clams to multiply and in line with fishers, supplied livelihood for a lot of throughout the pandemic. The initiative was launched as a part of a complete mission to revive inland fisheries sector and the websites had been determined after checking varied parameters.
“Locating the sites suitable for clam relaying requires time. The project will be continued after rechecking a number of factors in the habitat,” says an official.
