A quantitative analysis of the fishing community in Mumbai and the sustainability of fisheries
Student name: Ms Ipshita Adhyapak
Guide: Dr Sudipta Chatterjee
Year of completion: 2018
Host Organisation: Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Laxmikant Deshpande
Abstract: The study was conducted in Mumbai Metropolitan Region to study various socio-economic characteristics of the fishing community while also trying to gauge the sustainability of the fisheries accessed by the people in this region. The study revealed that the community was largely illiterate (vendors: 43.4%, fishermen: 32.5%) or had attained some form of primary (vendors: 25%, fishermen: 27.5%) or secondary education (vendors: 31.6%, fishermen 35%). This poor educational background led to fewer alternative employment opportunities. Thus their economic status was primarily dependent on the income they generated from fishing. The income for the vendors group was abysmal with 58.3% of the vendors earning in between of 1-5 thousand-rupees/ month while 50.8% of the fishermen managed to earn between 11-20 thousand-rupees/ month. The study also revealed a lack in health insurance coverage in both groups showing 78.3% of respondents. The study also looks into secondary data available for trends in fish catch estimates from 1985-2004 for Maharashtra while also comparing catches amongst all marine states and cumulative national data. Although most trends do not reveal a significant decline in catch, there were many interesting trends to observe through the graphs included in this paper.
