Explore how small scale coastal communities are affected by technological advancements.

1. Technology Interventions and
Management in Unreached People of
East and West Coast of India
Prof. A. K. Kapoor1 and Dr. Monika Saini2
1Former Vice Chancellor
Jiwaji University, Gwalior (M.P.)
At present Professor &
Head, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi
Delhi-110007
Email: anupkapoor46@rediffmail.com
2Researcher
Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi
Delhi-110007
Email: mini.1901@yahoo.com

2. Coastal States of
India

3. Indian coastal line offers diverse economic opportunities for the livelihood of
many coastal communities.
In India, many coastal people depend on living and non-living coastal
resources and its biodiversity for their survival.
Indian Coastal Resources
Fishery Mangroves Coral reefs Coastal Plantation
Coastal communities are facing significant social and economic upheaval as a
result of the fast technological transformation taking place in Indian coastal
belt.
Mangrove based
farming
Integrated Mangrove
Fishing
Cashew-nut plantation
Sale of vegetables and other
agricultural products
Fish catching,
processing and trading
Coconut cultivation
Boatbuilding,
netmaking and trading
Creates habitat for
marine species (fisheries)
Provide ecological
services to maintain
livelihood of poor
coastal people

4. Caste based organization of Indian Coastal Fishing Communities
Type of Coast States Fishing Communities
East Coast
Tamil Nadu Pattinavars, Mukkuvars and Paravas
Andhra Pradesh Vadabalijas, Jalaris, Pattap, Palles and Neyyala
Orissa
Jalaris, Vadabalijas, Nolia, Kaibartas, Khandayats
and Rajbhansis
West Bengal Kaibartas
West Coast
Gujarat Kharvas, Kolis and Macchiyaras
Daman & Diu Macchi, Kolis and Bhandari
Goa Kharvi, Bhandari and Macchi
Maharashtra Koli, Kharvi, Bhandari and Dalda
Karnataka Mogaveeras, Thandila, Ambiga and Bhoi,
Kerala Mukkuvrs, Anjootty, Dheevera and Pooislan

5. •Fishing communities in Gujarat and
Maharashtra show a much better level of
socioeconomic development
• However, fishing communities in Maharashtra
have poor access to basic services like literacy,
health, sanitation, and decent and safe housing
which reduces their capacity to understand and
cope with the processes affecting their lives and
livelihoods and to diversify or seek alternatives.
Coastal fishing
communities
on western
coast
•Fishing communities in eastern coast (esp. in
West Bengal) are much poorer, more
vulnerable and less integrated into the
mainstream.
•Some of the Sundarbans (Sunderbans)
fisheries (in West Bengal) are possibly the
least ‘developed’ among the four States, and
the fishers here are the least equipped to
handle challenges currently facing the sector
or the emerging threats like climate change.
Coastal fishing
communities
on eastern
coast

6. Technological Interventions
Information and
Communication
Technology
Motorization &
Mechanization
FRP (Fiber reinforced
plastic) Boats
motorization
of traditional plank-
built navas
Transportation
Techniques in fishing
methods: fish
tracking, processing
Global Positioning
System for navigation and
finding location
Factory made synthetic
Gillnets, ring-seine and
trammel nets
Price information
received by radio,
Community,
loudspeaker radio and
TV
Fisher, buyer and
merchant
communication through
mobile phones &
wireless devices
Mechanized trawlers
Fishing management
and information
sharing (government
policies) through
computer and internet
Modernized Hooks and
Lines
Trading from
distant markets
Solar-powered
air-conditioned
trucks to
transport fresh
fish

7. Traditional fishing tools and methods

9. Traditional Fishing: A Communal Activity

10. Launching a fishing boat

12. Fishing boats in Kerala (West Coast) Fishing boats in West Bengal (East Coast)

13. Fishing boat in Goa (West coast) Fishing boat in Andhra Pradesh (East Coast)

14. Hooks Ring-seine net Trawl
Modern fishing equipments

16. Illustration of Fishing through GPS and electronic monitoring

17. Solar powered air-conditioned
trucks to transport fresh fishes
Fish cold storage
Women selling fishes at air-
conditioned fish market

18. The shift in fishing methods from subsistence-based artisanal activities to
sophisticated modern technologies has rendered redundant the traditional
skills, knowledge and manual labour abilities of the poor, while also
increasing risks and leading to a dependence upon external sources of credit.
Besides the beneficial impact of technology on certain sectors of the fishing
communities, it has also had negative consequences for those who had no
access to it and has also rendered large sectors of the work force redundant.
The modernization process—begun in the 1950s—contributed to improving
small-scale fishers’ access to technologies, resources, markets and incomes in
the beginning, the inherent contradictions in the process led not only to a
failure to bring the small-scale fishers out of their poverty, but actually made
them more vulnerable to emerging threats such as climate change.

19. ImpactonTraditional
KnowledgeandPractices
The use of
new technologies like FRP and synthetic
fishing gears, and on-board engines, makes
traditional self-help practices useless.
Mechanical disturbances in the seas,
together with the use of engines, make the
traditional practice of identifying fish shoals
from a distance by eyesight and hearing
impossible.
The application of intensive fish capture
practices lead to fissures in the traditional
bonds and kinship ties characterizing intra-
and inter-village relationships.
The shifts from traditional fishing grounds
and adoption of technologies also make
traditional governance systems—already
weak—even weaker.

20. ImpactonLowerEconomy
Programme of mechanization helped only
the upper income strata and the fruits of
mechanization have not percolated down
to the lower strata of the fishing units.
Reduction in traditional processing
activities had enormous impact on the
large numbers of people dependent on
them.
Decrease in fishing boats coupled with the
increased population in fishing villages has
led to a drastic depression in wages and
increased unemployment.
With the introduction of factory made
fishing net, women and old fishers who
used to make nets became redundant
leading to reduced economy.

21. Impactonconditionsof
Fisherwomen
Changing conditions in fisheries are
forcing the women to supplement their
husband’s earnings through a range of
activities.
With the arrival of technology, net making
and mending, shrimp-seed collection, fish
trade ceased to be a women’s activity.
Women are increasingly diversifying into
agriculture and the construction sector to
work as wage labourers, in the process
depressing wages in the fishing areas.
Within the household, technological
intervention has undermined the role that
women previously played in marketing the
catch and managing the household.

22. Fishing in Thailand
Thailand is one of the largest fishery producers in the world.
At the sometime, Thailand has also encountered problems such as over-
fishing, decline of fish stocks and a low standard of living of small scale
fishermen.
Controlling fishing gear and methods, for example regulating the mesh size
and the amount of fishing efforts, played a significant role in fishing
management in Thailand.
In 2003, the SEAFDEC Training Department (SEAFDEC/ TD) initiated the pilot
project introducing the Japanese type Set-Net as an environment-friendly and energy-
saving fishing gear in Rayong Province, Thailand.

23. This technique was aimed at reducing pressure on the coastal fishery
resources, alleviating competition among the fishing gear types, developing
common policy concept on responsible coastal fisheries management, and
raising the awareness of the community on the need to conserve the coastal
fishery resources and fishing grounds.
The most important impact of the Set-
Net technology was demonstrated in
the enhanced cooperation of the local
small scale fishers and empowerment
of small coastal fishing communities.
Set-Net Fishing Operation in
Thailand

24. Boats used for fish gearing in Thailand

26. The Philippines is the 11th top fishing nation in the world.
Fishing in Philippines
Over a million Filipinos are engaged in marine fishing. Of these, an estimated
800,000 are small-scale fishermen using tradition, low-cost techniques, notably
net fishing from small boats and the fish corral.
Traditionally, these techniques have provided small-scale fishermen and their
families with a means of subsistence.
In the past two decades, however, their way of life has been threatened by the
rapid commercialization and technological interventions.
For coastal Filipinos, the combined effect of all of these forces has been a steady
reduction in their standard of living.

28. Boats used for fish gearing in Philippines

29. Impact of
Commercialization
and technological
advancement on
local fishing
communities
Average
income
reduced
Prevalence
of
malnutrition
Fishermen
have been
forced to
become wage-
laborers or
non fishing
boat owners
Wages are
simply too
low to meet
the basic
needs
Diminished
catches
together with
increased
costs

30. Other Coastal Resources
Mangroves are degraded and destroyed due to conversion into agriculture,
aquaculture and industrial land.
In India, coral reef ecosystem is distributed along with both west and east coasts.
Anthropogenic pressure such as dredging, mining and industrial development affects
the formation of coral reefs.
Maharashtra presents the bleakest picture of the state of mangroves: wherever they
had existed, most mangroves have either been destroyed for development purposes or
are dying out due to various pressures.
Besides the mangroves, coastal plantations in Andhra Pradesh and Kerala (coconut
plantations) which formed major coastal vegetation has been declined.

31. Although a strong legislative framework exists in India for the management of
coastal areas, but inspite of these efforts, several gaps exist in the management
of poor and unreached coastal communities.
There is lack of understanding on the effective functioning of the measures and
qualifications of benefits accrued by technological interventions at lower level.
There are no strong evidences to support recovery of biodiversity to improve
livelihood of coastal communities.
In examining the incidence of poverty among people who are dependent on coastal
and marine ecosystem services, the existing national policies have to be disaggregated
to address micro level issues.
Decisions on management follow a top-down approach and unreached people’s
participation on devising policy decisions at village level is weak.
Coastal Management & Coping Measures

33. There is evidence that in States like Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the household
economy is no longer based on fishing—or the men’s incomes—alone.
On the west coast, there is only limited evidence of out-migration from fishing,
largely because the incomes are still quite good and consistent.
On the east coast, in Andhra Pradesh and, increasingly, in the Sundarbans fisheries of
West Bengal, there is a growing trend of migration into both fisheries and non-
fisheries-related activities outside their area.
Several women from fishing communities in Mumbai and from neighbouring villages
work in the city as domestic help and industrial and construction workers.
In Andhra Pradesh, the women in some villages started diversifying into micro-fi
nance initiatives in the rural areas in the last decade.
Younger, educated, women work as shop assistants and telephone operators.

34. Small-scale fishers should be educated about the use and
applications of technologies in fisheries and also
encouraged to adopt them when required.
Policy makers and administrators should be encouraged
to develop a framework for decision-making regarding
development of fishing communities and coastal human
populations in the direction of sustainable development
Efforts should also be made to improve small-scale
fishers’ access to technologies, resources and markets so
that unreached people can benefit in the maximum
possible way.