Sivu, a fi sherman, helps track this particular
population of otters, the author describes for the
Nityata River Otter Conservancy.ANITH B.
LEFT & RIGHT Dead fi sh fl oat in the river after a bout of dynamite fi shing. The use of dynamite by some in the Cauvery river has impacted not just
the riverine ecosystem, which is vital to otters, but also the traditional fi shermen (right) who have been battling the problem of decreasing fi sh stock.ANITH B. ANITH B.
a specious licence, was extensive and
much in excess of the quota, churning
the waters of the Cauvery under
the daytime sun, a plethora of boats,
each outdoing the other in rapacity.
At dawn and after dusk, even as the
sand mining continued in stretches,
dynamite fi shermen visited the river
and threw the sticks in with impunity,
while the more traditional fi shermen,
who use gill nets, endured this in
fear, their livelihoods slipping away
as dynamite blasted out all the fi sh in
the vicinity, destroying native species
and fi ngerlings in the process. As the
water levels dropped in summer, all such
activity would increase in tempo. The
fi sheries department, living in pretence
that there was no dynamiting, took no
action. Instead, they focused on their
fi nancial-year ‘targets’ – the releaseof commercial species of fi sh – rohu,
katla and tilapia, called ‘jilebi’ locally. This
they did with much ado, patting their
own backs for sustaining livelihoods,
little realising that such releases were
actively damaging endemic fi sh diversity
(the practice, sadly, continues).
Amidst this mayhem, a romp of
otters lived precariously. The traditional
fi shermen, seeing their catch drop, took
much of their ire out on otters on the
occasions when the animal, adult or
pup, was caught in a net, clubbing it
to death.
In the last four years, much has
changed for the better. Due to better
enforcement and the expiration of
licenses, sand mining is now history
(and will, hopefully, remain that way).
Sivu and other traditional fi shermen
summoned up the courage to chasethe dynamite fi shermen away, once
confi scating over a quintal of fi sh and
reporting the incident to the police.
Over the last four years, these net
fi shermen have also developed some
level of tolerance for the otters in
their midst, largely due to a sustained
campaign of engagement, a tolerance
based on an understanding of the
importance of this apex predator,
combined with some fear for the
consequences of any deleterious action
on their part.
At the H Otter Corridor, smaller
packs of otters seem to aggregate just
before the breeding season, around
early October, stay together, go
through the process of reproduction
and weaning, and then disaggregate
around February or early March. This
aggregation and its reversal may not beThe relationship between otters and fi shermen has always been rather strained as the mammalians
tend to go after the fi shermen’s catch and damage the nets resulting in a backlash against
the species.ANITH B.