Hilsa landing has drastically declined in the recent decades. The costliest fish in the nation, the hilsa, a cultural link to the heritage of eastern India is slowly being lost. It is imperative that mass destruction of the juveniles are stopped and it is towards this end that the fishing technology needs to be upgraded.

Purse seining is one of the most efficient and advanced commercial fishing methods allowing fishermen to venture deeper and farther into waters well beyond the Indian coast.

Extreme events pose a great threat to the survival of populations across the world. We hear about floods, droughts and heat waves on a regular basis but the connection between weather extremes and climate change is ignored consistently. Today, the weather events are more influenced by climate change as it is constantly altering the natural limits, thus making specific types of extreme events more intense, widespread and frequent.

Many people were worried about the possibility of a natural calamity towards the end of 2012 leading the human race to perish. Perhaps the first predictions rose from Mayan astrology – chalked out in a calendar built out of stones indicating an abrupt end of the world on 21 December 2012. But, mass extinction on Earth needs to take clues from a geological perspective to be anywhere near the truth.

The south Asian monsoon rains contribute to 75-80 per cent of the region’s annual precipitation. Thus the response of the monsoon hydrological cycle to global climate change becomes an issue of major concern.

For certain places extreme weather events no longer seem to be statistically extreme but a norm. The populace of such places is likely to find it increasingly more expensive to be physically secure and lead a life they are used to.

Seagrasses are submerged monocotyledonous flowering plants adapted to complete their life cycle below the sea surface. They harbour rich diversity of marine flora and fauna of commercial importance; and help prevent beach erosion and siltation. Seagrass meadows are facing numerous challenges and threats in the present context and need urgent conservation strategies for increasing fish wealth and sea health.

Technological developments are yet to reach most of Lakshadweep’s islands and implementation of solutions are hampered by the remoteness and lack of logistic support. Advanced solutions are thus, imperative to achieve a degree of self sufficiency.