Amid shellfish famine in Goa, tisreo plunder continues

Panaji: Despite the specific regulations of the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) for sustainable harvesting of shellfish in Chicalim bay, hordes of raiders have been ransacking the habitat indiscriminately, carrying away bucket loads of tisreo (clams).
At low tide, some locals — but mostly extractors from outlying villages — descend on the bay, plundering the popular delicacy. Bivalves (such as oysters, mussels, and scallops) surface only once in a few years in Goa.
The unchecked pillaging of shellfish biodiversity in various habitats across Goa has put many species on the brink. Green mussels, once abundant in Siolim and other habitats, have almost disappeared. Clams were abundantly available but are now seen less frequently at marketplaces.
Chicalim is perhaps the last habitat of windowpane oysters but they have not been picked by locals over the past couple of years.
Shellfish harvesting is a livelihood issue for locals, as they rely on it during the season.
At Chicalim, raiders arriving in cars and on two-wheelers have raised fears of wiping out even the brood stock for regeneration. Initially, only a few locals were spotted near Vareg island.
“But on a weekend recently, it was crazy. More than hundred persons were picking huge quantities of clams at various places,” said Johnson Stephen, a villager and animal rescuer.
Villagers are sensitive and pick clams mostly for livelihood. But non-locals enter the water in unsafe conditions and even dig out shellfish with metal tools. “They can be seen leaving with 5-litre buckets or half of a rice bag with clams,” Stephen said.
Local residents said that the biodiversity management committee (BMC) has to adopt a more proactive approach. “The BMC has been empowered by the GSBB through a special notification to issue identity cards to all stakeholders,” said Cyril Fernandes, the president of Chicalim Villagers Action Committee.
He added, “This is to ensure sustainable practices and protect local livelihoods.”
In Chicalim bay and Sancoale, the rampant grabbing of kalvam (oysters) a few years ago and of windowpane oysters destroyed habitats.
“There are some who even pick juvenile ones. BMCs have to keep the raiders out, as it is a case of livelihoods versus insensitive extractors, who do it for adventure or curiosity,” Fernandes said.
But the local BMC’s chairman, Rui Manuel Araujo, said that habitat management is not an easy task. “It is difficult to control the crowd. We are trying to contact the fisheries department and coastal police to ensure sustainable extraction,” he said.
The BMC is keenly awaiting the declaration of Chicalim bay as a biodiversity heritage site. “It will curb the overexploitation of windowpane oysters and other shellfish,” he said.
GSBB guidelines have even specified the size of clams to be picked. “The nets should be triangular and of specific size to protect baby clams,” Araujo said.
Issuing identity cards to local fisherfolk and clam harvesters is in the pipeline, he said.
In a first, the GSBB had issued guidelines in 2022, permitting only locals within a 5km radius of the site to extract shellfish in the Nov-May season, the rest being the breeding period. Only traditional hand-picking methods were to be used for harvesting.
“Ideally, the lower limit of size for harvesting should not be less than 3-4cm,” the recommendations said.