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Divya Karnad’s website lists seldom-heard recipes such as ‘minced electric ray fry’ and ‘Karavadu’, a dish of salted, dried sardines. The idea, according to Divya, is to encourage people to eat a wide range of fish throughout the year, avoiding the ones that are breeding. The oceanic-blue website also acts as a handy guide to discovering seafood that’s ‘in season’ and also lists the ways to choose fishes caught by the best fishing practices. This InSeason Fish project is also the reason for her winning the prestigious Future of Nature Award 2019, which celebrates exceptional achievements in the field of wild animal and plant species conservation. Through the project, Divya and her team are working towards conserving endangered marine species, especially sharks, by promoting sustainable fishing and seafood consumption patterns.
The 34-year-old reveals how her life along the coast influenced her career choice. Born and brought up in Chennai, Divya always wanted to pursue a career related to animals. “Initially, I thought of becoming a vet, but later on, I gravitated towards working with wildlife,” says Divya. And her earliest interaction took place in college when she signed up with a volunteer group called Student Sea
Turtle Conservation Network that was working towards protecting Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. This interaction formed the basis of her Master’s thesis and brought her into close contact with Olive Ridley Turtles in Tamil Nadu and Odisha. It was during gruelling fieldwork sessions that Divya chanced upon a crucial realisation that would eventually inspire her to set up InSeason Fish. “When working with Olive Ridley Turtles, I also got to know about the problems faced by fishermen, because I worked closely with them and had even hired people from the fishing community to help me with my research. It was then that I realised that during the mating and nesting periods of Olive Ridley Turtles, the sea gets populated with either mating turtles or their vulnerable offspring. Hence,
fishermen ended