Co-management - Promise of sustainable fisheries in Telangana, India through stocking of fish seed in all the water bodies

In Telangana, water bodies are common resources in which small-scale fisheries could be sustained mainly through community-based co-management. Co-management of fisheries is broadly defined as the involvement of users in management in various experimental forms of participation of fishermen in the management process, in advisory roles or through delegation and sharing of power. Fisheries co-management has been regarded as multi-functional, addressing different knowledge and resource management problems with varying success. Many community based co-managed fisheries around the world are well managed under limited Central and State government structure, provided communities of fishers are proactively engaged. “Community-based co-management is the only realistic solution for the majority of the World’s fisheries and is an effective way to sustain aquatic resources and the livelihoods of communities depending on them.” In Telangana, Fishermen Cooperative Societies are today strong and cohesive organizations, and believe that community-based management is the approach needed for the long-term sustainability and profitability of the fishery. To encourage co-management in fisheries and increase fish production in common property resources, the Telangana Government intervened by stocking 500 million of fish seed in about 11067 water bodies.