CHAPTER II
SOCIO ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF
FISHERMEN
CHAPTER - II
SOCIO ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF FISHERMEN
Technology and technological change are the main two aspects for economic
growth and development. The invention or innovation made the technological
change that leads to an operation. The potential benefit of any technology is
analyzed accessing the benefits of end users. The end users should capable of
absorbing skills of using that technology is also very much important. Fisheries
sector in India occupies a significant role in the social and economic development.
Fishing has been an occupation of coastal people of India from time immemorial.
Fishing is an integral part of the country’s maritime culture and making significant
contribution to the Indian economy .Fishing has a record of creditable service to the
country by providing cheap protein to the common masses offering considerable
employment opportunities especially to the rural backward communities living along
the coast and earning valuable foreign exchange for the nation.
2.1 Fishermen in India
Fisheries sector is one of the promising subdivision in the Agricultural sector
of India. The fishing sector is recognized as a major income and employment
generator to the rural poor of the nation as well as it stimulates development of a
number of subsidiary industries. It is also a source of cheap and nutritious food with
high caloric value and also a source of foreign exchange of country. Fisheries sector
contributes significantly to the Indian economy by providing livelihood to
approximately 14.49 million people1.
India is the second largest fish producing nation in the world. India is also a
major contributor of fish through aquaculture and have second rank in the
production in the world after China. The total fish production in India during 2014-
15 is 10.06 Million Tonnes (MT) including 6.57 Metric tonnes from Inland sector
and 3.49 metric tonnes from Marine sector. Inland fisheries sector has a share of
about 65% in total fish production of the India. In the year 2013-14, Gujarat was the
1
Sabu, M., Shajumon,C.S (2014). Socio-economic Impact of Information and
Communication Technology: A Case Study of Kerala Marine Fisheries Sector, 4(2)
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
highest contributor to the marine fish production of India followed by Kerala.
Fisheries sector contributes 1% to the overall GDP and 5.5% of the GDP from
Agriculture and allied activities. During 2014-15, export of marine products from
India was 10, 51,243 tonnes valued Rs. 33,441.61 crore. It shows a growth of 10.6%
in the value of exports.
But the socio-economic conditions of the fishermen in India are very low.
They are lacking the culture of education, and live under improper housing
conditions. They normally living in the narrow strip of land as crowded without
proper sanitation facilities that leads to health issues among fishermen in India. Due
to the low income of the family, they does not have sufficient basic facilities in their
houses, they need to support a large number of family members that compel the
fishermen to borrow credits to fulfil their basic needs. Kerala is the one of the major
coastal state of India. The socio economic conditions of fishermen in Kerala is not
different from these.
2.2 Fishermen in Kerala
Kerala is the one of the major maritime state in India situated at the south
western end of the Indian peninsula with vast variety of marine species. The south
west of marine states of India comprising Kerala, Karnataka and Goa. Kerala is one
of the largest contributor to the total marine fish landing in India
The state of Kerala is rich in fisheries wealth with a coastal line of 590 kms.
Kerala plays a significant role in the marine Indian economy. The Western coast of
India including Kerala is very rich in marine wealth among that Kerala’s
contributions is very high. One of the major specialty of marine fishing sector of
Kerala coast is the formation mud bank called as ‘chakara’. Table 2.1 shows the
marine fish landings of the year 2001-2012. The Marine fish landings in Kerala
coast during the year 2012 was 574740 metric tonnes2.
2
Kerala Fisheries, Facts and Figures. (2012). Department of Fisheries.
Government of Kerala. Trivandrum.p. 35-36.
54
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
Table 2.1 Total marine fish landings in Kerala (2011-2015)
Sl. No Year Quantity(in metric tonnes)
1 2001 561648
2 2002 589530
3 2003 619428
4 2004 599169
5 2005 557075
6 2006 604546
7 2007 582561
8 2008 83159
9 2009 570854
10 2010 560822
11 2011 553600
12 2012 544740
Source: Department of fisheries facts and Figures
The fishermen of the Kerala contributes 8.8 percent of the Gross State
Domestic Product from the primary sector which is very significance to the state
economy. They are spread over 222 fishing villages in 9 coastal districts among 14
districts in Kerala, which includes Trivandrum, Kollam, Alappuzha, Cochin, Trissur,
Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod in 590 Kms in 102 panchayaths.
The Southern most districts of Kerala are Trivandrum, Kollam and Alappuzha have
a total coast length of 197.2 km including 96 villages marine fisherman villages3.
The population of marine fishing communities in Kerala Having 3.03 % of Kerala’s
total population. Muslims dominated in the marine fishing villages of northern
districts like Malappuram and Kozhikode. Christians and Hindus also dominate
other parts of coastal areas of Kerala.
3
Department of Fisheries- Marine Fisheries Statistics (2013). -Government of Kerala.
Trivandrum p. 5-8.
55
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
All the marine fishermen in mainly live along the narrow land in the coastal
areas. The allied activities related to fishing is also operated in the coastal areas
itself. Majority of the peeling sheds, ice plants, cold storages, freezing plants,
processing units, boat building yards are located along the coastal areas itself. The
overcrowding situation is due to the land holding pattern. This situation has some
resemblances of urban slum configuration.
2.3 Socio Economic conditions of fishermen in Kerala
Fishing is a male oriented activity. In which the male from different age
group, income group and ethnic group join together. The fishing activity is an
unorganized activity in which family and friends are involving. The satisfaction of
fishermen with each trip is strongly related to the amount of fish catch they got from
that particular trip4.
Development of a human being lead to a sustainable and healthy life with
Safety, security, sustainability, participation human rights for being creative and
productive and for enjoying self-respect. Human Development is the blend of
people's entitlements and attainments relating to education, health and livelihood.
Human development means increased capabilities of people that enable them to
access larger opportunities in their life. Amartya Sen viewed that, the standard of
living of a society should be judged not by the average level of income but by
people's capabilities to lead the life they value. Also, commodities should not be
valued in their own right but as ways of enhancing capabilities such as health,
knowledge, self-respect, and ability to participate actively in community life. Sen
also emphasizes that at the core of human well-being is freedom of choice.
The social economic life of traditional fish workers in Kerala is very low.
They socially belong to one of the most depressed classes in the state. The fishermen
belonging to the traditional fishermen community lives with poetry. Their income
and land ownership of land and housing facilities and standard of living are pathetic.
Fish workers in Kerala belong to 3 religious groups-mainly Hindus, Christians and
Muslims. Their social life and pattern of living three religious communities are
4
Richard, B., & Robert, H. (1986). Design and analysis of a socio economic survey of
marine recreational fishing.cmfri.cochin.p.31
56
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
almost similar. Their life is centered on the fishing seasons which decide the rhythm
of their life. They believes in ‘Kadalamma’ the God and the mother of sea, who
provides their life and belongings for their life.
There is no difference between them in their income standard of living along
the coast from South to North. Their perceptions about education, social, cultural
aspects are almost identical. In Kerala the socio economic backwardness is the
hallmark of the fisherman community. They are the socially isolated community.
The prominent reason for the isolation is the outlook of the society towards the
fisherman. Fishing and related activities are universally reserved for low-caste
segment of the society. For this pathetic situation of fisherman community, time or
place is not at all deciding factor. For example, in the 17th century king Marthanda
Varma of Travancore sold women folk of the aristocratic family to the fisherman to
insult his enemies. At this time granting of capital punishment was considered as the
mode of punishment less than the former one. It is clear that the social status of the
fisherman has had no change basically from the 17th century to the present 21st
century 5
The socio-economic status of the fishing communities in the nine maritime
districts of the coastal belt of Kerala depicts a picture of diversity. In a nut shell the
general picture of fishing communities in Kerala, exhibits their extreme pathetic
living conditions. They always come in the lowest ladder of Kerala society with
poor educational status and lack of basic livelihood facilities. The fisher folk are
isolated from the mainstream society due to the low level of literacy and undignified
mannerisms. Climatic changes and the lack of employment opportunities makes
their problems too serious6.
There are so many factors such as low social status, poor economic
conditions, illiteracy, heavy indebtedness, low production rate- and income
5
Sreeranganadhan, K. (2012). Role of cooperative socities in the marketing of fish and
fish productions in kerala. New Delhi: UGC.p.13
6
Antony, M., & S, A. K. (2011). Communication Parameters in the Marine Fisheries
Sector of Kerala – a study of kollam coastal villages.p.4
57
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
influence the socio economic conditions of fishermen7. In India majority of
fishermen wanted to continue their main occupation of fishing, while some of them
are really ambitious career planning in education. This means they are also realizing
the importance of education8.
2.3.1 Educational status
Education is considered as the initial need of every human being and it act as
the major source of acquiring other needs to life. Coastal community facing the
problem in all basic sectors including housing, education, sanitation, hygienic issues,
drinking water issues etc. Religion and caste influences the status of children.
Normally in fishing community the female children have low social status when
compared with male children. The communication with the children and parents are
considered as a peer ground for social wellbeing. In the coastal area the
communication status of children with family members were seems very low. Many
children have the same complaint of their parents have no time to listen them, and
they were always engaged in work and work related activities. The overall status 50
percentage children seems to be low in the coastal area and the status male children
is higher than the female children9. The cultural and religious barriers plays a
significant role in the educational attainment of youth from the fishing communities.
The major compelling reason for the inappropriate education of their children is lack
of finance. At the same time the inadequate facilities for studying in houses and lack
of attention of parents and lack of encouragement parents also plays a significant
role in their backwardness in education.
Now mechanization and modern education have been the major means of
socio cultural change in Kerala. But the fishing community has not much
experiencing this change because mechanization has not much positively affected
the life of the traditional fish workers. Fishing community is traditionally lacking an
7
Nammalwar, P., & Prakasam, R. (1979). Present Status and Problems of Fishermen in
the Marine Fishing Industry.p.8-12
8
Vasanthi, P., Venkatalakshmi, V. and Murali Mohan, M., 2015. “Fishing fathers,
vending mothers and educated youth (A maritime community on east coast of India in
transition)”, International Journal of Current Research, 7, (10).
9
Nazy P. (2007). Status of children in the Coastal areas of Kerala. Kerala
university.Trivandrum.
58
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
educational culture and they have been kept aloof from the general educational
situation due to certain occupational practices. Since children could be employed in
fishing and fish related jobs, basic education is not felt as a compulsive factor. This
perception towards education of fisher folk adversely effect in the overall
educational standard of the community. But the emerging situation in the traditional
sectors is quite complex. The introduction of technology and the effect of
globalization have alienated the poor, illiterate and, unskilled from the fisheries
sector. The interaction with outside world may have a great influence on the
educational development among the children. The interaction with other people,
regions and information would help in widening their outlook.
2.3.2 Housing status
One of the principal reason for the poor quality of life and substandard
conditions of marine fishing communities in Kerala is the crowding of the
community on a narrow strip of the land along the length of Kerala’s coastline. The
major impact of this crowding nature of living is reflected in the land holding
patterns of fishermen in Kerala. Every fishermen wishes to live on the sea front near
the point where he lands his crafts and from where he can observe the sea. At the
time of monsoon seasons the sustainability of their lives, their house and their land
are unpredictable. As a result 222 fishing villages in 590 Kms which holds 3.01
percentage of state’s population. None of these villages is more than half Kilometer
wide from the sea front. In some districts like Trivandrum and Kollam they are
hardly a quarter Kilometer away from the sea. The overcrowding nature leads to
health and hygienic issues10. Majority of the fishermen lives in ‘purampokes’ that is
the land owned by government. Lack of proper housing leads to the health issues.
The health status is generally measured in Death rate, Infant mortality rate and
Expectation of life at birth among others.
A house fulfils many important needs especially social needs of an
individual. It is one of the critical asset to own, both for men and women. As shelter,
it fulfils a basic need and also provides social security, sense of identity and self-
10
John, K. (1989). Kerala Marine fisheries Development - Socio Economic Profile.
Trivandrum: Centere of Development Studies.
59
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
esteem. Housing also provides opportunities for home based economic activities.
Adequate housing has also an important role in the health status of occupants11.
The women in the fishing communities have an active role in the economic
life and all of them bear the burden of the household worker. Their role in the social
life is not negligible. According to the fishermen community the men, whose
occupation at sea takes away from the main stream of society and have limited
contacts with the outside world. Because majority of the time in a day they are at the
sea. Behind every successful fishermen have a women in his family she is the anchor
of household12. But the advent of mechanization there is a drastic reduction in the
employment of fishermen because of unavailability of fish resources and high
operational cost of crafts. So there is a need of women to earn an income to satisfy
the domestic needs and other unexpected expenses. Traditionally women used to get
their fish for sale from the catch brought in by their husbands or relatives. But today
the picture is different; they have to travel miles and miles for gathering fish. But
there is another side which fishermen and women living along the coast are involved
in exploiting the resources but still the resources not being fully utilized since people
in the villages are ignorant about its utility and economic importance13.
Women are from fisher folk generally likes to do marketing and processing
jobs related to fishing. And they were interested in starting house based ventures.
The appropriate awareness campaigns to the women in the processing houses,
emphasizing the importance of cleanliness and hygiene while processing the
products may be organized with the help of the local NGOs who are working closely
with the fishers. They can be provided adequate support, both financial and
technical, to form in to SHG so that they can take up suitable processing and
handling methods and improve their income to upgrade their standard of living14.
11
Economic Review. (2003).Kerala State Planning Board. Trivandrum. Chapter 13, p.1–36.
12
C S Ambili (2007). Educational performance of marginalized groups- A case study of
traditional fisherfolk. Kerala: Kerala University. Trivandrum
13
Immanuel, S., & Sathiadhas, R. (2004). Employment potential offisherwomen in the
collection and post harvest operations of seaweeds in India, 26, p. 209–215
14
Narayankumar et al.(2005). Fisherwomen's knowledge and practice alternative income
generating activities: A case study in A.P., Fishing Chimes, Vol.25(4).(July).
60
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
There is a need of enhancing women's access to resources for better quality
of life through adoption of technologies which are feasible for them so that there
should be an increase in their family income through the skill development and
income generating activities.15
2.3.3 Socio Political status
Fish workers are a marginalized group in the political life of Kerala. They
are considered as vote banks of the political parties’ .But none of them have done
anything substantial for improving the life of the fish workers. Despite the fact that
the fishing communities have been consistently faithful to their respective political
parties very little has been done for them. The level of political consciousness is
very low among the fish workers while it is very high among the general public of
Kerala. The fish workers are aware of the fish resources and its destruction by
mechanized trawling .But those who actively participate in political affairs are still a
small minority. The cultural life of the fish workers is closely related to their
religions, beliefs and practices .The belief in God who protects human beings and
intervenes in their daily life and their closeness to the mother sea are expressed in
various cultural and religious symbols. Culturally fish workers community is quite
different from other sections of the society in Kerala are reason in their distinct
mode of operation. Fishermen in Kerala are still marginalized and isolated by the
economic system. The political parties considered them at the time of election for
votes. They considered as vote banks of 9 coastal districts. Because they are the 3.1
percentage of the overall population of state.
Each community has its own difference in characteristics. Fishermen has
strung temper that leaps like high surf but it just like retreating surf and quickly calm
to the low ebb. The fishermen have the nature of sharing what he have with others.
His closeness to nature and element of great risk to life makes him superstitious as
he is genius and carefree. He always have very low status in the society and
categorized as lower caste of society. As a community they are unorganized and
isolated. Their associations are of communal nature. Religion plays a critical role in
15
Sheela.I (2008). Adoption of oyster culture by women in Kerala, 45(2),p. 237–242.
61
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
their intra community affinity16. In fishermen villages majority waste their time by
playing cards or gambling or consume the alcohol because they does not have any
convince for relaxation and fun which consumes their earnings and health.
There was a greater degree of social participation from the fishermen in
programs organized by the researchers and also it can be treated as a better position
to get information about the technologies. Most of the programs are implemented
through societies and hence, if the fishermen re the member of these societies their
linkage will be more (Immanuel & Kanagasabapathy, 2005) (Immanuel &
Kanagasabapathy, 2005) (Immanuel & Kanagasabapathy, 2005) (Immanuel &
Kanagasabapathy, 2005) (Immanuel & Kanagasabapathy, 2005) (Immanuel &
Kanagasabapathy, 2005)17.
There is a better socio-economic status of fishers is reflected by increase in
literacy level, reduction in dropouts, and improvement in housing type. There is a
wide intra sector disparity in income between those engaged in various craft gear
combinations within each sector. The seasonal nature of fishery and the risk and
uncertainties associated with marine fishing entangled the fishermen in the low-
income trap. The poor economic condition coupled with the less availability of
finance from the institutional agencies compel them to sustain with less equipped
fishing implements, which in turn results in diminishing returns. The extent of
indebtedness and the average outstanding debt per indebted households are
comparatively less among fishermen as per the figures of institutional sources, but
the affairs of the fisher folk are really grim as they are virtually gripped in the hands
of non-institutional agencies, namely the money lenders and traders for which
legitimate data sources do not exist18.
16
John, K. (1981, March). Socio economic conditions of traditional fishermen. CMFRI
Bullettin, 30(A), p. 45-53.
17
Sheela.I, & Kanagasabapathy, K. (2005). Linkages between fishermen and researchers
in marine fisheries-an analysis, (55), p. 10–12.
18
Sathiadhas, R. (2009). Inter-sectoral Disparity and Marginalization in Marine Fisheries
in India. Asian Fisheries Science, 22, 773–786.
62
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
2.3.4 Financial status
Income is the main factor which holds them from quitting the industry apart
from occupational attachment. The average annual income is the highest among
mechanized sector followed by motorized operators and low among the artisanal
sector. The very specialty of the fisher folk is that even during resource depletion,
they expect that a bumper catch can occur suddenly and this pulls them to stay.
Above all since they have invested capital in fishing assets, it is very difficult for
them to look for other jobs during lean seasons so they are very sticky to their
occupation, specially the fishing asset owners. They were normally like to become
the permanent employees of a single owner. In the last year 71.3 percent worked
with one single owner, in the current year 70 percent of the fisher folk preferred
staying with a single owner19.
Fishermen are normally attracted to the non-institutional agencies mainly
because of their simple procedures for availing loans and timeliness in availing
finance for meeting their immediate requirements such as operational expenses. The
saving nature of the fishermen in Andhra Pradesh fishermen households indicated
that 79% of them had no savings and 16% of them possessed savings of less than `
0.50 lakhs. Lack of savings related to the need for credit for the sustenance of their
livelihoods. One of the reason for the need of credit was mainly for purchase/
craft/gear repair of crafts/ gears or other fishing related equipment’s (40%) followed
by marriage and education expenses (20% each)20.
The fishermen were not show much interest to join in the craft or house
insurance schemes. This may be because of they were not convinced about the need to
take insurance coverage. While comparatively much more participation in the savings
cum relief schemes because of the amount will retuned after the period of 8 months21.
19
Bindu, g. (2011). Technological change and modernisation in the fishing sector: the
question of sustainability. Kerala: cochin university.Cochin.
20
Vipinkumar, V., Swathilekshmi , P., Johnson, B., & Narayana, R. (2013). Coastal
indebtedness and impact of microfinance in marine fisheries sector of Andhra Pradesh.
Indian Jounal of Fish, 60(4), 81-86.
21
Sherry, J. (2003). Fishermen- Their social and economic development. New Delhi:
Saloni Publishing House.p.40-71.
63
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
One of the main problem of fishermen in Kerala is finance, they belongs to
the financially weaker section of the society. Due to lack of finance middlemen take
the advantage of their financial conditions22. The indebtedness is the one of the
major issue of traditional fishermen in Kerala. During off season and lean months as
wee as the special occasions of families such as marriage, death and other religious
functions of the families the fishermen are forced to borrow money from other
people. The middle financers of the locality or the owner of the craftsmen become
the shylocks exploited the indebted fishermen and forcing them to sell their houses
or other belongings such as ornaments of family members or other valuable
belongings or even to bonded their labor hours to them . They need to pay extra
ordinary interest on these loans. The monopoly in the marketing of fishes are in the
hands of middlemen. There are so many middlemen in the landing centers who
enjoy the lion’s share of profits of fish sale. They control the prices of fish coughed
by the hardworking fishermen. The problem of unemployment among fisher
population is very critical. The chronic alcoholic nature among the majority of the
fishermen is another contributive factor for their economic backwardness. The other
communities looks them with contempt and disdain that creates inferiority complex
among them. Normally they hesitate to mingle free with others their interactions are
mainly with in the community itself. Their interactions are almost with same type of
people with similar experience, culture, and ideas. So there is no chance for
motivation for them23.
The in accessibility of credit is one of the major issue of fisherwomen to start
any business ventures. Lack of ownership of assets coupled with too administrative
procedures denying the credit. The formality of procedures for transactions coupled
with lack of awareness about schemes kept them away from financial institutions. At
the same time the chit agents collect the money personally and all the transactions
made orally. None of the authorized institutions by the government have flexibility
22
Ambrose, F. (1994). Problems facing the fishermen of Beche de mer industry. Bullattin
of CMFRI(46), p. 110-111.
23
Jose, F. P. (1985). The Theology of the fishermen- In the context of fishermen strugles in
Kerala. Quilon, Kerala: Department of Psycology.p.5-30.
64
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
in procedures and they didn’t have even flexible savings schemes especially for
empowering fishermen community24.
It is a widely acclaimed fact that the good health of an economy is the
reflection of good health of its banking system. The fishermen in Kerala always
have the complaint of the banks have not come forward to give loans and some of
the beneficiaries visit banks many times to get the loans. The bankers insisting for
security for their surety. The main reason the demand of security is for easy recovery
of loan from the beneficiary household. Otherwise it become much difficult to
retrieve the money from fishermen. So bankers are not ready to extend their helping
hand25.
Another issue faced by the fishermen is the increased price of fuels such as
diesel and Kerosene over years. The availability of subsidized fuel is also very low.
Because of the liberalization and the open access nature of the fish resources in the
coastal waters and issuing the licenses for foreign vessels adversely affect the life of
traditional fishermen. The foreign vessels with updated technologies filtering the
bottom of sea. This is one of the major issue of concern about the availability of fish
catch. Lack of strict inspection from concerned authorities encourages the deep sea
fleets to through away the regulations stipulated by the government such as the deep
sea fleets would not catch the fish from 22 nautical miles zone26.
Normally the workers of the crafts are always got a share of the value of the
catch. It is not a fixed wage. In addition to a share they also get bonus for fishing trip
if the sales revenue is above a particular limit. The onboard food expense is paid by
the owner and in some cases this food expense is deducted from the gross income to
arrive at share value. The crew share depends on the degree of mechanization.
Different types of crafts have different sharing pattern. In the case of motorized
sector, the sharing pattern is the owner receives 50 per cent of the share of the net
24
Ashaletha, S., C. R., & S. I. (1998). changing roles of fisherwomen of India- issues &
Perspectives. Women in Fisheries (p. 25-40). Cochin, Kerala: CMFRI.
25
Surapa Raju, S. (2013). marine fisheries and its effect on development of fisheries : a
study on motorization of traditional crafts and hsd oil schemes. hyderabad: Council for
Social Development.p.14
26
Dhanuraj, D. (2004).Traditional fishermen folk in Kerala & their livelihood issues. CCS
Research Papers. New Delhi: Centre for Civil Society.
65
Chapter II Socio Economic Conditions of Fishermen
income that is after deducting the operating expenses such as diesel, oil, food and
marketing commission and the rest is shared among the crewmembers. The sharing
system among traditional fishing category is very simple. There is no uniformity in
the sharing system, generally with higher mechanization, the percentage of share of
crewmembers will decreases. Normally the owners are expected to give advance
credit to crewmembers to the extent of Rs. 5000-6000 depending on the experience
and relationship27. Kerala’s achievement in social development and quality of life is
inspiring and encouraging. The state has achieved a good position in human
development index comparable to those of the developed countries. But the
development in the rural poor of fisheries sector not leads to the development of
fishermen in Kerala the fishermen have been left behind the overall progress in the
quality of life of Kerala.
The greatest asset of fishermen is their vast knowledge about the sea, fishes, fish
habitats, currents, waves and stars. They have learned it through tradition and handed
over from generation to generation learning by doing28. One of the paramount reason for
their backwardness is their unemployment situation because of the seasonal nature of
the fishing profession coupled with depletion of resources, increased number of crafts
and high operational cost of mechanized crafts make unable to operate their crafts every
day. The real situation in Kerala is the fishing communities have not benefited from the
increased production due to mechanization. They are sidelined from the overall efforts
of the state to improving the quality of life. Fishermen are acting as tools in the hands of
merchants because to become an owner of mechanized fishing vessel is always like as a
dream, because of the higher capital requirement and operating expenses thrown away
the dream of a normal traditional fishermen to own a craft and gear. Now majority of
the traditional fishermen were working as an employees of the crafts. They become an
instrument to thicken the pockets of big capitalists groups. Next chapter narrates the
status of impact of mechanization in the socio- economic status of fishermen in Kerala.
27
Ramachandra, Bhatta. (2003). Socio-economic Issues in Fisheries Sector in India. A
Profile of People, Technologies and Policies in Fisheries Sector in India (pp. 17-42).
New Delhi: National Centre For Agricultural Economics And Policy Research.
28
John, K. (1988). Kerala Marine fisheries: a historical perspective of development
process.Centere for Development Studies. Trivandrum.p.7-15
66
