Socio Economic Impact of Trawl Ban on the Livelihood of Marine Fishers' of Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu

J. Amali Infantina¹*, R. Jayaraman², B.S. Viswanatha¹

¹Department of Fisheries Economics, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, Thoothukudi, India.

²Director (Technical), Coastal Aquaculture Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Chennai, India.

Corresponding Author Email: amaliinfantina@gmail.com

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CARJ.5.1.13

Abstract:

Indian fisheries sector has witnessed phenomenal growth in marine fish production over the decades, with the modernization of fishing crafts and technology, thereby resulting in fluctuation of the same, thus rendering intense debate on growth and instability. To ease the production trend in a sustainable way and to conserve the dwindling marine resources, the monsoon trawl ban was introduced in 2001 in Tamil Nadu. The seasonal fishing ban has been one of the very few significant management measures for the sustenance of the marine resources since its preamble. Though remarkable upsurge in marine fish production was achieved post implementation of ban, yet, it had generated issues in employment, poverty and income generation of fishermen during the ban period and was always a matter of turbulence among mechanized and traditional sector of fishing. It is also alleged that the enhanced marine fish landings could also be a case of fishing in and out of the waters off Tamil Nadu coasts. We made an attempt to understand the social and economic impact of fishing ban on the livelihood of marine fisherfolk and to study the viability of different marine fishing units (Motorized and Mechanized) in Tamil Nadu. The overall employment loss and loss in labour income during the ban period was also assessed. The fishermen’s constraints during the ban has also been ranked and suggestions given to improve the livelihood security of the marine fishers’ in the Palk bay area.

Keywords:

Employment Loss; Fish Production; Livelihood Security; Trawl Ban

Download this article as: 

[ HTML Full Text]