Living in tide country

Intensifying cyclones and saltwater flooding pose a threat to traditional livelihoods in the Sundarbans. WWF-India has introduced multiple innovations to make fish farming more resilient.

By Soma Saha, Lead—Communities; Arjun Kumar Manna, Project Officer;
Anamitra Anurag Danda, Director—Sundarbans Delta Programme, WWF-India


Low-cost fish cages made out of bamboo by fishers in the Sundarbans; the Daspur Cage Fishery 

Life in the Sundarbans has to adapt to the landscape and its unique challenges. The average elevation of the villages is just a few metres above sea level, while the high-tide levels are six metres or more. For villages to exist in the region, earthen embankments had to be erected to keep saltwater at bay. The current embankment length is nearly 1,800 kilometres, but these embankments breach often. With storms becoming more severe and frequent, breaches have also increased.

A breached embankment results in saltwater flooding of villages twice a day—until the breach is mended. The villages depend mainly on paddy agriculture, followed by fishing and inland fishery. The Bengali palate prefers freshwater fish, therefore household-level fisheries are freshwater ponds. These ponds also remain susceptible to saltwater flooding and the loss of fish crop.

We witnessed the first large-scale saltwater flooding in the aftermath of cyclone Aila in 2009. Dead fish floated everywhere, turning the air fetid. This image has lingered in our collective memory since. WWF-India has tried to address the vulnerability of fish ponds on several occasions.

The first attempt was to encourage the cultivation of euryhaline fish, which can withstand a sudden rise in salinity, e.g. the spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) and the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer). The idea was that even if saltwater reaches the ponds, the fish crop would not perish. This did not work because the Asian seabass is a carnivore that preys on other fish, and the Bengali palate did not favour the spotted scat.

Due to repeated cyclonic events in the region, many disaster shelters were built by various government agencies and non-state entities. Initially, the focus was solely on saving human lives. Subsequently, disaster shelters also started to incorporate the needs of livestock, but not the fish in the ponds.

The second attempt at resilient fish farming was to build a fish disaster centre. The idea was to create a secure facility owned and operated by the community that would allow for high-density stocking of fish for a limited period as soon as a cyclone warning was issued. The facility was essentially a set of large, uncovered water tanks on high ground with solar-powered aerators and pumps. It was set up in 2022 in consultation with the Gram Panchayat leadership after nearly 30 fish farmers expressed their intent to use the facility. However, due to local sociopolitical issues, the facility was never used and wasted away.

The third attempt was a floating fish farm in a creek. This was inspired by an ongoing experiment of the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences (WBUAFS). The experimental fish farm had survived cyclones in a relatively sheltered creek in the Sundarbans during 2019-2021. Since it was a scientific experiment, the people working on the farm were paid labourers. We worked for a year to identify a group of fish farmers who wanted to participate in our intervention and were located close to a creek with enough draft even during low tide. By late 2023, we found a group that constituted itself as the Daspur Cage Fishery Committee (DCFC)—duly endorsed by the local Gram Panchayat at G-Plot. WBUAFS came onboard as the knowledge partner and provided training to the DCFC members—and all others who were interested.

A floating fish farm is essentially a set of floating structures with nets. The installation is anchored to the creek bed. Fish fingerlings are introduced to the first fish cage and subsequently moved to the next, as some of the fishes grow faster than the others. DCFC members decided on Asian seabass since it is a relatively high-value fish. During the festive season, its price can go up to Rs. 700 per kilogram, while at other times, it sells for about Rs. 300.


Committee stabilised operations by October 2024 and harvested the first batch of Asian seabass in March 2025

G-Plot is one of the southernmost islands in the Sundarbans. Here, the creeks are wide and choppy—much like a fast-flowing river that changes direction twice a day. Despite the challenges, the DCFC members not only persisted but also innovated. We had provided them with octagonal marine-grade stainless steel structures, but they created a low-cost fish cage out of bamboo. This bamboo structure is rectangular, experiences less drag and is easier to operate. The nets need to be changed every fortnight due to biofouling. Changing nets of a floating rectangular structure is relatively easier than that of an octagonal structure. The nets are reused after drying and cleaning.

After a couple of missteps and loss of fingerlings, DCFC was able to stabilise operations by October 2024 and harvested the first batch in March 2025. The carnivorous nature of Asian seabass worked in our favour here. They were not provided any external feed—the creek brought enough live fish into the cage.

While DCFC has proven that fish cages are resilient to weather conditions, the fish farmers must manage their operations in a manner that their harvests coincide with festive times. The committee now plans to modify the octagonal cages into rectangular ones, while also tweaking their practice to make the enterprise more financially viable for the future.